Imbalances
by unlimitednoodles
Summary: Landry Beckett is a witch going into her seventh year of schooling at the renowned school of witchcraft and wizardry, Hogwarts. Landry must navigate the struggles of interpersonal relationships while facing the insurmountable task of saving the Wizarding World from a threat that she herself unintentionally brought upon.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Beckett, Landry!"

A pale, skinny girl stepped up to the tall stool, shaking with nerves. This moment would determine the next seven years of her life. It had been a very strange day indeed when a tall, stern looking woman in a pointy green hat had shown up on the doorstep of the Beckett household to tell Mr. and Mr. Beckett that their eldest daughter was a witch. Now, a month, shopping trip, and train ride later, Landry Beckett stood in the Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, preparing to be sorted into one of four houses. She didn't really mind what house she went in, though she had overheard some students on the train saying that Gryffindor was by far the best. That did seem to be consistent with what she had read in the history books she had picked out at Diagon Alley two weeks before. 19 years ago, the great Harry Potter had defeated the Dark Lord Voldemort, with the help of his friends, one of whom was now the Minister for Magic. They were almost all in Gryffindor. Landry had heard whispers that the children of these famous heroes were attending school here, as well. She wondered if that was true. The small girl brushed a strand of thick, brunette hair out of her face as she turned and sat down on the stool. The last thing she saw before dark fabric covered her view was hundreds of eyes staring up at her.

"Oh, I see! A very creative and witty mind, capable of great inspiration. I know just where you belong…RAVENCLAW!"

Loud cheers erupted from one of the four long tables as the sorting hat was removed from Landry's head. She smiled as she walked towards the table of students clad in bronze and blue. She had a feeling that this school was going to be extraordinarily magical.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It had been six incredible years since Landry had been sorted into Ravenclaw house. Now 17, she was standing on Platform nine and three quarters clad in her blue and bronze uniform, her long brown hair tied back into a ponytail. Her eyes were scanning the room, looking through the crowd of students, parents, and siblings. Soon, she found what, or rather, who she was looking for.

"Scorpius! Albus! Gen!" she called out, running across the platform.

Three heads turned excitedly towards Landry, and when she reached them, the four teenagers embraced. Landry had befriended Genevieve Malcolm during her first year at Hogwarts during a double Potions class with Hufflepuff house, which Genevieve was in. Her dark auburn curls bounced happily as she threw her arms around her best friends. Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy were newer friends. The two girls had been forced to sit with them on the train ride to school the previous year, as all the other compartments had been full. They soon discovered that all the terrible rumors about them were entirely untrue, and they quickly became quite the foursome.

"It's so good to see you guys!" laughed Genevieve.

"It really is," replied Albus. "I missed you all." Landry noticed an odd look on Albus's face. He looked…nervous?

Confused, Landry asked, "Albus, are you alright? You look nervous."

Albus's expression grew even more undeniably terrified. "Oh, no, it's nothing at all," He said, unconvincingly. "Oh, by the way," he continued, "Once we get on the train, I have something to tell you all."

Landry was about to inquire further when she heard loud footsteps dashing towards her.

"Landry! There you are! Daddy said I couldn't get on the train without you. Also, you forgot your things when you ran off! Landry, are these your friends? Hi Landry's friends, I'm Pippa AnnLynn Beckett, pleased to meet you. What houses are you in? I want to be in Ravenclaw with my sister! Oh, and-"

"Woah, Pippa, slow down!" Landry laughed. "I know you're excited, I was too on my first trip to Hogwarts, but you're not giving my friends any time to answer your questions."

Pippa blushed, embarrassed. "Sorry. I tend to talk a lot when I'm nervous or excited."

Scorpius smiled at the young girl. "It's okay, I do too," he said. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy, and to answer your question, I'm in Slytherin."

Pippa smirked. "Oh, so you're the one Landry is always going on about in her diary!"

"_Pippa!" _Landry muttered, her face turning red. "Haha, she means I write about all of my friends in my diary! Which she should _not_ be reading." This, of course, was not entirely truthful. Ever since she had first talked to Scorpius on the train ride the year before, Landry experienced an odd feeling whenever she was around him. The feeling somewhat resembled several butterflies attempting to fly up her throat. When it got to a certain point, there was no denying it. Landry was hopelessly crushing on Scorpius Malfoy. But Landry, being incredibly non-confrontational, had not yet brought herself to confess her feelings to anyone besides Genevieve and her diary.

"Come on Pip, let's go find Dad," Landry said, gently pushing her sister away from her friends to avoid any more embarrassment. "I'll meet you guys on the train!" She called back to her friends, who nodded in agreement and headed off to say their own goodbyes. Pippa and Landry walked across the platform, where their dad was waiting by two large carts stacked with trunks, bags and books.

"Landry, there you are!" said her father. "Does everyone have everything they need, then?"

"Yes, Dad," replied the children in unison.

"Excellent. Pops and I are really going to miss you, you know," said the tall man.

"We'll miss you too, Daddy," cried Pippa, throwing her arms around him.

"It will be so lonely this year," he said. "We won't only be without Landry, but now you as well!"

"You could always adopt another kid," Landry joked.

"No thank you! Two is enough for us," her dad replied, laughing. "Pops and I will write each of you every week, and we expect letters in return. I still don't understand why this school won't just let you call."

Both children laughed. Landry decided it best not to attempt to explain the magical cell block that came along with being a Hogwarts student. Suddenly, the whistle on the great steam engine blew, signaling that the train would be leaving for Hogwarts very soon. The Becketts exchanged their last goodbyes until the Holiday break, and the children boarded the train with all their things. Landry got her sister situated in a compartment with a couple other first years, who Pippa immediately struck up a conversation with. Then she hurried off to find her friends. She found them in a compartment near the front of the train. Scorpius and Genevieve were laughing at something one of them had just said, but Albus was sitting stiffly in the corner, looking even more nervous than before.

"Hey guys," said Landry, entering the compartment and closing the door being her. "What's up?"

"Not much," replied Genevieve, smiling at her friend. "Oh, hey, now that you're here, Albus can tell us what he wanted to tell us!"

Albus's hazel eyes grew wide. "O-oh. Yes. Right."

Scorpius placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You know we'll all love you no matter what, Albus. We're your best friends." he said, trying to calm his friend's nerves. Albus did not seem convinced.

"Plus, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to, Albus," Landry said.

"No, no, I really want to tell you. I'm just a bit nervous is all," replied Albus.

"It'll be okay, Albus," comforted Genevieve.

"Alright," said Albus, swallowing hard. "Here goes nothing, then." He took a deep breath. "I'm gay. As in, I like boys. Not girls."

There was momentary silence, before all three of his friends smiled at him.

"That's cool, Albus!" said Genevieve. "I'm sorry it was so hard for you to tell us. Did you really think we wouldn't accept you?"

Albus smiled a small smile. "I just wasn't sure if you would. My brother James wasn't all that nice when I told him, before my parents gave him a long, angry lecture about how homophobic he was being. It was just…a whole, big event. And I didn't really think of it as a big deal before then, but that made me think that maybe it was a big deal."

"Albus, we'll be your friends no matter what," Landry said. "I actually have two dads, if you didn't know."

"Oh, wow. No, I didn't," replied Albus. "That's cool."

Scorpius slid over closer to Albus and hugged him. That was when their moment was interrupted by the arrival of the trolley witch.

"Anything off the…" The witch stopped short, and her pleasant expression vanished when she saw Albus and Scorpius. She clearly had not yet forgiven the boys for their escape off the train during their fourth year. She grumbled something under her breath about "rotten kids" and then moved on to the next compartment. The four teenagers collapsed into laughter, and talked happily amongst themselves for the rest of the ride.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Several hours later, the Hogwarts Express came chugging into Hogsmeade Station. Landry and her friends disembarked the train, still laughing about their encounter with the trolley witch. They soon heard the familiar call of the Hogwarts gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures professor, Rubeus Hagrid. "Firs' years, follow me!" he called out. Landry waved as she spotted Pippa standing near Professor Hagrid, and both her sister and Hagrid waved back at her. She knew Pippa was in good hands with him, so she and her friends made their way to the carriages. Most Hogwarts students assumed the carriages were horseless, but Landry, Albus, and Scorpius saw the truth. Landry had first been able to see the large, black, skeletal beasts at the start of her third year, after being in the room when her grandmother passed away. She soon learned that these creatures were called thestrals, and were invisible to anyone who had not seen someone die. Albus and Scorpius had seen one of their classmates be killed by the evil daughter of Lord Voldemort during their fourth year, so Genevieve was the only one in the group who could not see the thestrals. She hoped that she never would. Landry had developed a soft spot for the misunderstood creatures, and liked to spend some of her free periods on the edge of the Forbidden Forest with them. Because of this, most of the thestrals knew Landry, and the one pulling the carriage that Landry and her friends boarded neighed happily upon seeing her.

"Hello, friend," she said to the beast, gently stroking its snout. "I don't have anything for you right now, but I'll be sure to bring you something to eat next time I visit, alright?"

The thestral snorted in approval, and started off towards the castle. Professor Longbottom was waiting at the front gate to greet the arriving students. "Hello there, kids! Welcome back to Hogwarts!" he said to the teenagers as they got out of the carriage.

"Hello, Professor, nice to see you!" greeted Genevieve.

"You too, Miss Malcolm. Now, you children can just leave your belongings at the front archway as usual, and we will deliver them to your dormitories. Then you may head up to the Great Hall for the start of term feast!"

"We will, thank you, Professor," replied Albus.

The teens did as they were told, and headed up to the Great Hall. "So Albus and I will meet you in the R.O.R. after the feast, right?" asked Scorpius.

"Definitely," replied Landry, as Genevieve nodded in agreement.

The four students went their separate ways towards their house tables. During the year, students were allowed to sit wherever they liked during meals, but at the start of term feast, everyone was required to sit at one of four tables sorted by house, so that it would be less confusing for the first years to know where to go after being sorted. Landry found a seat next to her roommates at the Ravenclaw table. Suddenly, there was a sound of clinking glass from the teachers' table, and the Hogwarts Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, shouted over the crowd "May I have your attention, please!" The Great Hall fell silent, and all eyes turned towards the Headmistress. "Students, welcome back to Hogwarts! Before we begin our start of term festivities, please give a warm welcome to our new first year students!"

The doors to the Great Hall swung open, and a group of excited and nervous looking eleven year olds entered the room. Pippa waved at her sister as she walked past, towards the front of the room. Professor McGonagall pulled a large, pointed brown hat from behind her back, then waved her wand wordlessly, causing a tall wooden stool to appear. It was time for the sorting ceremony. Landry's sister was the first student to be sorted.

"Beckett, Pippa!"

Pippa took a deep breath and walked towards the stool. Professor McGonagall placed the sorting hat on her head, and after what felt like forever, the hat finally called out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Cheers sounded from the Gryffindor table as a very relieved looking Pippa ran to join them. One by one, the rest of the first year students were sorted into their houses. Once everyone had been sorted, Professor McGonagall vanished the stool and sorting hat with a wave of her wand, and then, all of a sudden, the tables were filled with food. There were roast turkeys and mashed potatoes and baked beans and, of course, pudding. All of the students set themselves to work on emptying the tables, and soon enough they succeeded. After everyone was done eating, Professor McGonagall dismissed them, instructing the house Prefects to show the first years to their dorms.

"Darn it," Landry said under her breath. She had forgotten about her Prefect duties. She quickly pulled a small glass stone from the pocket of her robes, and tapped it four times with her wand. Suddenly, Genevieve's face appeared in the stone.

"Hey, Landry, what's up?" said the Genevieve in the stone.

"Hey, I completely forgot about my Prefect duties!" Landry said to the stone. "I'm going to be a little bit late to meet you guys. I'm sorry!"

"No worries," Genevieve replied. "We'll wait for you!"

Landry smiled to the stone, and then tapped it once more with her wand. Genevieve's face disappeared, and the stone lay silent once more. These stones were something that Genevieve and Landry invented in their second year, since cell phones didn't work on the Hogwarts grounds. Both Genevieve and Landry were Muggleborn, and so both of them were very used to technology and found the lack of it at school very annoying. They decided to come up with the next best thing, and enchanted glass stones to function almost like a phone does. They had given stones to Albus and Scorpius the previous year, but neither of them really understood their purpose, as both of them had grown up in wizarding families and had never experienced technology.

Landry called out "First year Ravenclaws, over here, please! I'm Landry Beckett, on of the Ravenclaw prefects, and I'll be showing you to your dorms!" A small cluster of eleven year olds gathered around Landry, and she was soon leading them up many staircases towards Ravenclaw Tower. They reached a large wooden door with a bronze knocker and no doorknob. The knocker, which was shaped like an Eagle, sprung to life suddenly, startling some of the first years.

"If I drink, I die. If I eat, I am fine. What am I?" asked the knocker. Landry furrowed her brow in thought. It couldn't be any sort of animal, as all living things need to drink. She turned towards the first years.

"Does anyone have any ideas?" she asked them.

Slowly, one of the students raised their hand. "Is it fire?" she asked. The door swung open, and all of the other students stood silently, in awe.

"Wow, that was awesome!" said Landry, with a hint of jealousy in her voice. The first year who had answered the riddle beamed as the group entered the Ravenclaw common room. It was a large, open room, with a dome ceiling, where stars shone brightly overhead. "The ceiling is a planetarium," stated Landry, as gasps sounded from the first years. The common room had a large fireplace, a bunch of cushiony chairs, and a giant bookcase filled with books and board games of all kinds. It was all in various shades of blue and bronze, and was quite a sight to the first years.

"Now, the girls' dorms are up the staircase to the left, and the boys to the right. There is also a third dorm for anyone who is nonbinary, so if any of you think you'd feel more comfortable there, please let the head of house, Professor Flitwick, know as soon as possible. And have a great year, everyone!" With that, Landry's prefect duties were done, and she raced off to join her friends in the Room of Requirement.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Landry stood alone in an empty corridor, pacing back and forth. "I need a place where I can hang out with my friends," she thought to herself. Soon, a tiny door appeared on the wall. It grew larger and larger, until it was a normal sized door, and then Landry pushed it open. In front of her was a cozy little room, filled with beanbag chairs, a crackling fireplace, and a bunch of fuzzy blankets and pillows. Three heads turned towards her as she entered.

"Hey, Landry!" exclaimed Scorpius, motioning for her to come over to where the three friends were sitting. Landry smiled, and joined them on the beanbag chairs.

"How are the first years doing?" inquired Albus.

"They seem fine," Landry replied. "One of them got the knocker's riddle right on his first try!"

Genevieve laughed. "I'm sure that one will fit in just fine, then," she said.

"Yes, she will. But I can't believe an eleven year old figured out the answer to a riddle I was stumped on!" Landry complained.

"Aw, poor Landry is jealous!" teased Scorpius, placing a hand on her shoulder. Immediately, Landry felt that familiar feeling in her chest. Clearly, her feelings for Scorpius had not faded over the summer. Her cheeks turned red and she laughed nervously, trying to cover up her feelings, which were becoming increasingly harder to cover up. Genevieve gave her a knowing and sympathetic look. She knew how much Landry struggled with this. Sometimes Landry wondered if she should tell him. She wondered if there was a chance he could feel the same way. But she did truly value his friendship, and never wanted to do anything to put that in jeopardy. There was nothing she could do to suppress her feelings, or just get them to go away. From his pale blonde hair to his grey-blue eyes and his hilarious sense of humor, Landry was utterly obsessed with every part of him. After calming the blush on her cheeks, Landry looked up to see a very odd expression on Albus's face, which vanished as soon as he caught her gaze. She had suspected for a while that Albus might have caught on to the fact that she liked Scorpius, and this certainly did not ease that suspicion.

"Well," said Albus, standing from his chair. "It's getting quite late, we'd better go to bed."

Genevieve looked puzzled. "But Landry only just got here, Albus! Plus, we still have a half an hour until curfew," she argued.

"Scorpius and I have an early class tomorrow morning," Albus explained. "Double Charms class with Gryffindor. But you two can stay if you'd like! Come on, Scorpius."

Scorpius reluctantly stood, and the two boys left the Room of Requirement. "Is it just me, or was that incredibly strange?" asked Genevieve.

"No, it definitely was. I think Albus knows, Gen." Landry sighed.

"Knows what?" she questioned.

"That I like Scorpius. I think he knows." replied Landry.

Genevieve frowned. "Oh," she said. "But what does that have to do with him leaving so abruptly?"

"Oh, no!" exclaimed Landry. "What if he's gone off to tell Scorpius? That could ruin our friendship! Ugh," she groaned.

"I don't see why he would do that," said Genevieve. "He's your friend. I don't think he would go and tell Scorpius without asking you first, especially since he has no way of knowing for sure."

This made Landry feel a bit better. It was true, Albus had no way of knowing for sure. And, she realized, if he did confront her about it, she could easily deny it if she wanted to. "I guess you're right," she said, with a breath of relief. "Thanks, Gen. You always know what to say to make me feel better."

Genevieve smiled. "Now, what do you say we play a game of wizard's chess?"

An hour later, Landry snuck back through the castle and into her dorm. It had been a very compelling game of chess, but in the end, she had won. She climbed the stairs to the seventh year girls' dormitory, and quietly entered the room in case her roommates were asleep. The room was dark, and she could see that three of the five beds contained snoring lumps. Her own bed, and the one closest to hers, were empty. Landry could see that the bathroom light was on, as it shone out from under the crack of the door. She assumed that her roommate, Destiny Chester, was in there, as hers was the bed that was empty. Landry pulled out her pajamas so that she'd be ready whenever Destiny emerged, but after fifteen minutes passed, Landry had grown annoyed and concerned. What was taking her so long? Landry grabbed her things, and knocked softly on the bathroom door. "Destiny? Are you in there?" she questioned. The door opened almost immediately.

"Yeah, sorry," said Destiny quietly. Her dark hair hung over her face in grown out bangs, and she was looking down at the floor.

"You okay?" Landry asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," replied Destiny. Landry was not convinced, but she wasn't about to pry. It was really none of her business, she just hoped her roommate was alright.

"Okay, just checking," Landry smiled. "Goodnight."

Destiny quickly scurried over to her bed and drew the curtains. She had never been the most social of Landry's roommates, but today had been much worse than usual. Over the years Landry has known her, Destiny had become more and more distant, and during their last semester, it had begun to worry her. Today's events did not make it better. Destiny had barely spoken a word at dinner, and hadn't eaten much at all either. And now it seemed she had locked herself alone in the bathroom for at least a half an hour? Landry was unsettled. She had grown to care for all of her roommates over the years, and although they weren't close friends, she did not want anything to happen to any of them. Landry figured she was probably just overthinking things. Destiny was probably completely fine, and Albus and Scorpius probably were, too. Landry soon climbed into bed and closed her eyes, trying to push all of these troubling thoughts out of her head. Instead, she thought of Scorpius. Just Scorpius. His eyes, his laugh, his soft hair. Spending time with him, hugging him, holding his hand, kissing him…Landry could only dream of this. She was embarrassed as to how much she thought about kissing him. Landry found this to be an excellent distraction, and she slowly drifted off to sleep.

She awoke several hours later when she heard an unusual noise. "Lumos," she whispered, pulling out her wand. She shone the light around the room. All of her roommates seemed to still be asleep. But then she heard it again. It was an odd scratching noise, and it seemed to be coming from the back left corner of the room. She slid out of bed and quietly tiptoed over to the corner. She presumed that someone's cat had escaped, and may be digging a hole in someone's books. But when her wand shone on the corner, she saw nothing there. The noise was louder now that she was closer. It was almost as though it was coming from within the wall. Landry reached out her hand, and ran it along the wall. Suddenly, she heard a scuffling noise, as if whatever was causing the scratching noise was running away. And then silence. Landry was perplexed and a bit scared. Her first day back at Hogwarts had not gone as she had hoped. She padded back to her bed, and bundled herself up under the covers, pulling out a book. Her wand illuminated the pages, and she immersed herself in the story. Lost in the world of her favorite characters, she felt safe. Slowly, she grew sleepy again, and as the first light of dawn peered through the windows, she whispered "Nox." Her wand light went out, and she found herself asleep once more.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Over the next few weeks, things seemed to calm down after Landry's strange first night of her seventh year. Albus and Scorpius were acting normal again, and although Destiny's behavior was still concerning Landry, she hadn't locked herself in the bathroom again, that Landry knew of. The only thing that was really puzzling was the strange tapping noise. It had returned almost every night since the start of term. Every time Landry got too close to the wall, especially if she touched it, she would hear the same scuffling noise and then she would not hear it again that night. She had soon stopped going over to the corner, and had instead been trying to ignore it. It clearly was not going to be stopping anytime soon, and Landry had her classes and friends to worry about. Though Albus had been acting mostly normal since that first night in the Room of Requirement, she still suspected he may know her secret. Landry wondered what would happen if Albus knew, and then told Scorpius. She had always assumed that he would immediately come and say that he didn't like her in that way and that he wasn't sure they could remain friends since it would be too awkward. But a small part of her brain was allowed to imagine otherwise. He had never shown any signs of liking her romantically, but he also hadn't shown any signs of not liking her. This was all Landry could tell herself to comfort her. Her crush was becoming increasingly more difficult to hide, and eventually she would have to tell him, or at least someone, or else she would explode.

"I say just tell him, Landry," suggested Genevieve, as the two girls were walking to class together one day.

"We've been over this a hundred times, Gen," Landry reminded her. "Scorpius's friendship means a lot to me, and I don't want to lose that.

"I know, I know, but mate, this is eating you alive. You can't just keep emotions this strong bottled up. Telling your diary and ranting to me just isn't cutting it anymore. If not Scorpius, you have to tell someone. Don't think I haven't noticed you've been extra tired recently, Landry. You're losing sleep over this. I think you have to tell someone else. For your own good," Genevieve said.

Landry sighed. Genevieve was mostly right, though Scorpius wasn't the only thing causing Landry to have trouble sleeping. She hadn't yet told anyone about the mysterious scratching noises or Destiny's worrying behavior, not even Genevieve.

"You're right, I know you are," said Landry, giving in. "Honestly, I've been thinking the same thing. The logical conclusion I've come to each time I run through the situation in my head is that I have to tell someone. But who?"

"Well," though Genevieve. "How about Albus?"

"Absolutely not, Genevieve!" exclaimed Landry, in shock. "Albus is the last person I want to tell, besides Scorpius himself. Those two spend every waking moment together, there's no way Albus would keep that secret from Scorpius. Especially after what happened on our first night back. Remember that?"

"Landry, he's your best friend. He cares about you, and if you asked him not to tell Scorpius, he wouldn't. Besides, since you seem to have it in your head that he already knows, what's the harm in telling him something he's already aware of?"

Landry considered this. Genevieve certainly wasn't wrong. "I'll think about it, okay?" Landry conceded.

"Yes!" cheered Genevieve.

"Now, come on, we've got to get to class!"

The two girls entered the History of Magic classroom. The girls were a few minutes late, but their teacher, Professor Binns, was already too busy droning on to notice their tardiness. They took the only available seats in the back of the room. Landry listened to the professor, while Genevieve played with her hair. That is, until Landry heard a familiar sound.

'_SCRATCH. SCRITCHSCRATCH.'_

Landry's eyes opened wide. She looked over at Genevieve to see if she had heard it as well.

"Gen!" Landry whispered, nudging her friend lightly.

"What is it?" Genevieve questioned. It was unlike Landry to talk during class when she was not supposed to.

"Did you hear that?" Landry asked.

"Hear what?"

'_SCRAAAAATCHSCRATCH.'_

"That!" exclaimed Landry quietly. "That scratching sound!"

"Yeah, I did," replied Genevieve. "Probably just someone in the room next door,"

"No, no, you don't understand! I've heard that noise almost every night since the start of term!" Landry explained. "It comes from within the walls. But whenever I get to close to it, it runs away!"

"What are you talking about, Landry?" asked a very confused Genevieve. "Are you suggesting there's something in the walls?"

"I don't know for sure," confessed Landry. "But it's part of what's been keeping me awake at night."

Genevieve's expression became sympathetic. "Alright then," she said, with determination. "We'll have to figure out what this is then. You need sleep."

Landry smiled gratefully. The girls spent the rest of the lesson listening for the scratching sound, but they did not hear it again. Landry and Genevieve did not have another class together that day, but it was a Friday, so they would be meeting Albus and Scorpius in the Room of Requirement after dinner that night. The group had designated every Friday night to hanging out, just the four of them, in their favorite spot in the castle.

After a delicious meal of cheeseburgers, which was quite a popular meal with the students, Landry headed to the Room of Requirement. Albus and Scorpius were already there. "Hey guys," she exclaimed as she came into earshot of them.

"Hi, Landry," Scorpius said, smiling. His smile made her melt every time.

"Hey," said Albus. "Where's Genevieve?"

"I'm not sure," answered Landry. She was about to pull out her glass stone to try and contact Genevieve when she came running around the corner.

"Sorry I'm late!" she said, panting from her sprint. "Shall we?"

The foursome entered the Room of Requirement and situated themselves on the cushions. Scorpius waved his wand at the fireplace, and yellow flames sprung out of his wand and into the hearth.

"Wow, look at you doing silent magic!" complimented Genevieve.

Scorpius smiled proudly. "Thanks! I've been practicing. Speaking of practicing, Quidditch tryouts are next weekend! Are any of you trying out?"

Albus laughed. "You know I'm absolute rubbish at sports, Scorp," he replied.

"Same here," said Landry.

"Actually, I've been practicing recently." Genevieve confessed. "I think I may actually try out."

"Wow!" exclaimed Landry. "That's awesome! I'm sure you'll be great! I'll come to every game and cheer for you, even when you're playing against Ravenclaw."

"Thanks, Landry," laughed Genevieve. "But in order to play against -and beat- Ravenclaw, I'd have to actually make the team."

"Well, I bet you will," said Landry reassuringly.

"Hey, wait, Gen," Albus said thoughtfully. "If you make the team, that means you'll be busy every Saturday morning, and every other day after classes. That's a whole lot less time to hang out with you. Of course we support your quidditch endeavors completely, but I think we ought to go out with a bang, before you become the quidditch star of Hogwarts."

Genevieve laughed. "What do you have in mind?" she asked.

"I say we pull an all nighter. Here, tomorrow night. What do you say?" asked Albus.

"I'm in," said Scorpius.

"So am I," said Landry, immediately after Scorpius said he would be going.

"Well, you obviously can't have a party for me without me!" laughed Genevieve.

"Then it's settled. We'll meet here at 10pm tomorrow night. Genevieve, you bring snacks since your dorm is right next to the kitchen."

"What are you talking about, Albus?" Landry inquired. "This is the Room of Requirement. It will have everything we may require, including snacks."

All three of Landry's friends laughed.

"Oh Landry, you're such a Ravenclaw," giggled Albus.

The four friends said their goodnights, which involved Scorpius giving Landry a hug that almost made her collapse into a puddle of lovesick goo. Scorpius and Albus headed back to their dorm together, and as soon as they were out of sight, Genevieve turned to Landry.

"Landry, honey, you have to tell Scorpius that you like him." she said apologetically. "You almost fell over when he hugged you, if you don't let some of that emotion out, you'll probably explode, and I'll have to magic you off the walls."

Landry sighed. "Genevieve, no! I've told you a million times that I can't."

Genevieve groaned. "Okay, okay. But, consider this. How would you like some time alone with Scorpius, just you two? I won't make you tell him, but I think you owe it to yourself to have a minute alone with him. How about tomorrow night, we'll play truth or dare, and I'll dare Albus to walk up to the Astronomy Tower and back. I'll have to go with him since there would be no other way to prove that he completed the dare. Then you'll have some time alone with Scorpius."

Landry considered this. Time alone with Scorpius did sound very, very nice. "Okay, fine. Time alone with him does sound pretty good."

"Yes!" Genevieve cried, clearly feeling as though she had just achieved a great success.

"Alright, now I better be off to sleep. It's getting quite late." Landry said with a yawn.

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Landry!" Genevieve replied.

"Goodnight," Landry called back to her friend, as they went their separate ways.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next evening came around faster than you could say "slumber party." Landry, Genevieve, Albus, and Scorpius met promptly at 10 o' clock in the Room of Requirement. Tonight, the room was larger than usual, and housed four tents made up of colorful blankets, as well as the usual beanbag chairs, and a variety of snacks for the friends to enjoy.

"Woah, this is amazing!" said an awestruck Landry.

"Yeah, it is," agreed Scorpius.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Genevieve. "Let's get this party started!"

The friends all kicked off their shoes and took their seats on the beanbag chairs. "What should we do first?" Albus asked.

"How about we play truth or dare?" suggested Genevieve, catching Landry's eye. This game of truth or dare was, of course, part of Genevieve's plan to get Albus out of the room so that Landry could have a moment alone with Scorpius.

"Sounds fun," replied Albus.

"Alright, I'll dare someone first, then. It is my party, after all!" Genevieve laughed. "Albus, I dare you to go up to the Astronomy Tower and back! I'll go with you to make sure you actually do it."

"Fine. But only if Scorpius does it first!"

"Hey," cried Scorpius. "That isn't how this game works!"

"Oh, scared, are you?" teased Albus.

"No! Scared, me? Never! I'm Scorpius the fearless!"

"Then do it. I'm staying right here until then," replied Albus, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Fine!" said Scorpius, standing up. "Come on, Genevieve, let's go!" Scorpius grabbed Genevieve by the arm and dragged her with him out of the Room of Requirement.

"Sorry!" she mouthed to Landry, just before she disappeared through the door. Landry sighed. This was not at all what was supposed to happen.

"What's wrong?" asked Albus, sensing her distress.

Landry was about to say, "Oh, nothing," when something stopped her. She remembered what Genevieve had said the previous day.

"Landry, he's your best friend. He cares about you, and if you asked him not to tell Scorpius, he wouldn't. Besides, since you seem to have it in your head that he already knows, what's the harm in telling him something he's already aware of?"

Plus Landry had said she would consider telling him. And if she were completely honest, she truly did hate keeping a secret from one of her best friends.

"Albus, if I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone else. And I mean _anyone,_" Landry said in a shaky voice.

"I promise, Landry," said Albus solemnly.

"Okay. Well, the thing is," Landry took a deep breath. "I like Scorpius. As more than a friend. I mean, I really, really like him, Albus."

Albus said nothing, and instead looked down silently at his feet. He looked…disappointed?

"Albus?" Landry questioned. She had not been expecting this reaction.

Now it was Albus's turn to take a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Landry. I know that must've been hard to tell me, though I must admit I've suspected it for a while. I just haven't wanted to say anything about it because I didn't want to jeopardize our friendship."

"What do you mean? How would my liking Scorpius change _our_ friendship?" Landry asked. "Unless…" Suddenly everything fell into place.

"I like him too, Landry," said Albus.

The pair sat in silence, neither of them able to come up with any words to say. This possibility had never even crossed Landry's mind, though now it seemed obvious. This was why Albus had quickly whisked Scorpius away on the first night of term. He had gotten jealous and worried when he noticed the signs of Landry's crush, and had not wanted Scorpius to spend any more time with her, for fear that she was a threat.

Albus was the one who broke the silence. "That's why Genevieve dared me to go to the Astronomy Tower. You were going to tell Scorpius you liked him."

"Sort of," Landry said. "I just wanted time alone with him. It was Gen's idea. She was the first one I told when I started liking him last year. I'm too scared to tell him,"

"Oh," Albus replied. "I'm sorry for ruining that for you, I promise it wasn't intentional. And you aren't alone, Landry. I'm scared to tell him, too."

"I just don't want to mess up our friendship. He's one of my best friends and I care about our friendship a lot. But it's also eating me alive," Landry confessed.

"Scorpius was my only friend for years. It was just me and him, him and me. Scorpius and Albus, Albus and Scorpius. And then you and Genevieve came along, and we were both so happy to have found more friends. But for a while…he was all I had. And I guess I just fell in love with him without realizing. Until I did realize. And boy, was that a realization. That's how I realized that I'm gay." Albus explained.

Landry sighed. "So…what do we do now?"

Before either of them could say another word, Scorpius and Genevieve cam bursting into the room, laughing and soaking wet.

"It's raining," said Scorpius.

"Wow, really? I'm sure neither of them would've ever suspected that, seeing as though we're both _soaking wet,_" Genevieve said sarcastically.

"Okay, Albus, now it's your turn!" cried Scorpius. Albus said nothing.

"Albus? Earth to Albus!" said Scorpius, waving a hand in front of his friend's face.

"Oh! Hi, Scorpius, what is it?" Albus said, regaining his composure.

"It's your turn to do the dare now! I'll come with you," said Scorpius, pulling Albus onto his feet. Albus immediately looked at Landry. He was clearly trying to wordlessly ask her if it was okay for him to go off alone with Scorpius. Landry sighed. Part of her wanted to scream out "No! How dare you!" but she thought about if she was in his shoes. She nodded, and Albus's face lit up in gratitude. Soon, Scorpius and Albus disappeared behind the door, and Landry and Genevieve were left alone. Landry didn't know what to do. Her brain was spinning. She could no longer hold it in. Landry threw herself into the arms of an unsuspecting Genevieve and began to cry.

"Oh my gosh, Landry, what's wrong?" Genevieve asked.

"How *sob* could I *sob* have been so *sob* stupid?" Landry cried. "He likes him too, Gen. Albus likes Scorpius too."

"WHAT?" Genevieve exclaimed, shocked. "Okay, what happened?"

"I told Albus that I like Scorpius because I didn't want to hide it from him anymore. He looked disappointed, which at the time seemed really odd, so I asked him what was wrong and then he told me," Landry said, through tears.

"Oh Landry, I'm so, so sorry," said Genevieve sadly. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't pressured you to tell someone then you wouldn't be so upset right now."

"No, Gen, it's not your fault. There was nothing you could've done to stop either of us from liking him. I would've found out eventually. But now I just don't know what to do. It's pretty clear that neither Albus or myself are going to stop liking Scorpius anytime soon. I care about both of them so much though, and I would never want to upset Albus, and I'd like to think he'd never want to upset me. But someone's going to end up getting hurt, I know it. There's no other way out in this situation. I feel so helpless, Gen."

"Oh, Landry," Genevieve said, trying to comfort her sobbing friend. "You're in no fit state to finish an all nighter now. Why don't you head back to bed and I'll tell Albus and Scorpius that you weren't feeling well."

Landry nodded in agreement, wiping her tears. She didn't think she could face seeing either of the boys again tonight. "Thanks, Gen. I don't know what I would do without you."

Landry set off to the Ravenclaw common room feeling defeated. She was trying not to start crying again, when she rounded a corner and ran right smack into something. Something she couldn't see.

"EEEEEEEEK!" shrieked nothing. Landry opened her mouth to scream when she realized that the shriek sounded strangely familiar.

"Pippa?"

Suddenly, Pippa appeared out of thin air. "Landry?" she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," replied Landry. "But first I have to ask you HOW IN THE WORLD YOU JUST DID THAT!"

That was when Landry noticed the shimmering piece of fabric that Pippa had in her hand.

"Is that..?"

"Yup," Pippa said. "I nicked it from Lily Potter!"

"Pip, stealing is wrong! If you weren't my sister I'd report you for this! But seeing as though you are my sister, I'll just tell you to return it first thing tomorrow and apologize, or else I'm owling Dad and Pop!"

Pippa hung her head. "Okay, fine, I'll return it."

"Good," said Landry. "Now what were you doing wandering the castle this late anyways?"

Pippa sighed. "You're going to think I'm making things up if I tell you," she said.

Landry raised an eyebrow. "Try me."

"Okay," said Pippa skeptically. "I've been hearing this strange noise for a while now. A sort of random scratching. I hear it all the time, in class, in my dorm, everywhere! It seems like it's coming from the walls. So I decided to try and follow it, but I got lost and, well…here I am. You probably think I'm lying but I swear I'm not."

Landry's eyes widened. "Pippa, I don't think you're lying. I've heard the same noise, too. Almost every night since the start of term, and yesterday in class as well."

"Wow, really?" Pippa cried, clearly very surprised. "So I'm not hearing things! There really is a noise!"

"Pip, I promise we'll try our hardest to figure this out, but for now, it's very late and I don't want this to distract either of us from our studies. It's time to go to bed, okay? I'll walk you back to your dorm."

Pippa nodded, and the two sisters set off.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

At 4 o' clock in the morning, Landry Beckett found herself running through the halls of Hogwarts in her pajamas. She had not slept a wink. The scratching noise had not come to pay her a visit in her dorm that night, which Landry was quite thankful for, because she had been deep in thought for a very long time and had needed to concentrate. As she ran, a long roll of parchment flew out behind her. This parchment is what she had been concentrating on, and she did not want to waste another second before putting it to use. She quietly entered the Room of Requirement, and was happy to find that Scorpius and Genevieve were asleep, and even happier to find that Albus was not.

"Landry?" Albus whispered. "What are you doing back? Oh, I knew you just left because you're mad at me." he said, burying his head in the pillow he was clutching.

"No, I'm not mad, but could we maybe go somewhere else?" Landry asked. "We definitely need to talk and I don't want to wake the others."

As if on cue, a door appeared on the wall of the room. The Room of Requirement really did live up to its name. Albus and Landry walked through the door to find a small room with two bean bag chairs and a small table in between them. Landry shut the door behind them and the two teenagers sat down.

"So I've spent all night writing this up, and I think it's pretty fair, though I'm open to suggestions and alterations of course, as this is just as much about you as it is about me," Landry began, laying her long piece of parchment flat on the table. Albus began reading it, but almost immediately looked back up at Landry.

"A contract?" he questioned.

"Yes," Landry replied. "Tell me what you think."

_Rules and Regulations of the Unfortunate Love Triangle_

_1\. Neither Albus Potter nor Landry Beckett will do anything to purposefully jeopardize the other party's chances with Scorpius Malfoy. This includes telling anyone else about the situation, unless given explicit permission to do so._

_2\. Neither Albus Potter nor Landry Beckett is required to help the other in any way when it comes to their attempts to date Scorpius Malfoy._

_3\. Albus Potter and Landry Beckett will tell each other immediately about any developments in either of their attempts to date Scorpius Malfoy so that neither of them hears it anywhere else first if this is to happen._

_4\. Albus Potter and Landry Beckett will keep this contract between themselves. Nobody else is to know about it._

_5\. Albus Potter and Landry Beckett will remain friends throughout the duration of the Love Triangle._

_By signing here, Albus Potter and Landry Beckett do solemnly swear to conform to the rules of this contract._

_Landry Beckett_

"So?" asked Landry, after Albus had finished reading.

"Landry, are you sure this is necessary? I mean, it's not like either of us has any reason to believe he likes us back," Albus pointed out.

"That's painfully true," Landry agreed. "But I think this is the safest option. The parchment isn't cursed or anything, I promise. Here, I'll prove it,"

Landry pulled out her wand. "Revelio," she said, pointing it at the contract. Nothing happened.

"See?" she said, looking questioningly at Albus to seek his approval.

"I would've trusted you anyways, Landry," he said. "I guess if you really think a contract is the best way to handle this, I'll sign. The rules seem to be reasonable."

Landry let out a breath of relief and pulled a quill from her pocket. "Here, sign right next to my signature," she instructed.

_Albus S. Potter_

"Excellent," Landry said with a small smile. She flicked her wand, and the contract rolled itself up. "Now, I suppose I should go back to my dorm now. I don't want the others to wake up and find me here, because then we'd have to break rule number four."

Albus nodded. "Alright. I should probably try and get some sleep as well."

Landry and Albus left the smaller room, and when they closed the door behind them, it vanished, as though it had never been there. As Landry turned to go, she heard Albus call after her.

"Landry…we're cool, right?" he asked, holding out his hand. Landry smiled, and shook it.

"Yes, we're cool, Albus."

Landry left the Room of Requirement and walked back to the Ravenclaw dormitories. She was quite relieved that the love triangle situation was settled, and felt rather exhausted and ready to sleep. She answered the eagle knocker's riddle, and as she entered the common room, she felt her eyelids begin to droop already. But they shot open once more when she heard soft sobs echoing from the other side of the room. "Lumos," she said, shining her light towards the noise. Curled up on one of the large plush chairs was Destiny Chester, crying. She closely resembled a deer in headlights, with Landry's wand light reflected in her eyes.

"Destiny? Are you alright?" Landry asked, concerned. Destiny wiped her eyes.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine," she replied. Landry walked over to her.

"Are you sure?" Landry questioned.

Destiny sighed. "Do you ever feel lost even though you know exactly where you are?" she asked.

"Yeah. Yeah I do," said Landry.

There was a long silence, awkward, but filled with new understanding.

"Right," said Destiny, finally breaking the silence. "Well, I'm feeling tired. Goodnight, Landry." And with that, Destiny raced off. Landry was left in shock over what had just occurred. The Destiny situation could no longer be ignored. Landry decided she would keep an eye on Destiny, to make sure she was okay. She wondered what her roommate could be going through, right under her nose. Landry couldn't help but feel guilty about this. As the first light of dawn shone through the windows, Landry thought to herself "Well, I guess I did pull an all-nighter after all." She no longer felt sleepy, so she decided to do what she always did whenever she was feeling out of sorts. She quickly and quietly trekked up to her dorm and threw on her muggle clothes, as it was a weekend and she did not feel like wearing her stiff school uniform at the moment. She then set off for the only place on school grounds where she always felt calm and free of worry.

It was around 6 o' clock when Landry arrived on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. She could see tendrils of smoke coming up from the chimney of Professor Hagrid's cottage, so she knew he was awake when she knocked on his door.

"Hello there, Landry!" Hagrid said when he opened the door. "Come ter see the thestrals, have yeh?"

"Good morning, Professor," Landry greeted him. "Yes, I have. You wouldn't happen to have some raw meat lying around, would you?"

Hagrid chuckled. "As a matter o' fact, I do!" he exclaimed, disappearing into his house momentarily, before returning with a small bucket of treats for Landry to feed the thestrals.

"Thanks, Professor," said Landry. "I promised the thestral that pulled my carriage up to the school that I'd bring them something to eat next time I visited."

"Well, then, I'm glad I've bin able ter be o' service," grinned Hagrid.

"See you in class, Professor!" called Landry as she headed towards the thestrals' territory. Soon she found herself surrounded by the large skeletal beasts, who flocked around her. She figured this was partially because of the treats she carried, but also because they missed Landry herself. She greeted them happily and felt her worries fade away. Landry was glad to know that she would always have these friends at Hogwarts, even when her human ones were confusing her.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Scorpius Malfoy was very troubled. He had found himself faced with something he was not prepared for. Ever since Albus had come out to him as gay on the Hogwarts Express at the start of the term, he had been thinking about himself. Scorpius had never really considered that he may be attracted to people who weren't girls. After all, he had been chasing after Rose Granger-Weasley for his entire Hogwarts career. But recently his mind had been occupied by another member of that family. Someone who meant a great deal to him…and he did not want to lose their friendship by bringing feelings into the mix. So he had to distract himself. With someone, anyone…Rose would never do. She had never paid any attention to him. It had to be someone who would gladly spend time with him. Who he didn't hate…who he could grow to have feelings for. He thought about all of the girls he knew. The list was not long, but one name jumped out at him. He had not been oblivious to how pink Landry's cheeks were when she was around him. She was nice, he thought, and a very good friend. Holding her hand didn't sound half bad. "Yes, Landry will be perfect," Scorpius decided. "I like Landry now. Landry. _Not_ anyone else."

Landry and Albus's contract proved itself to be effective. Any time either of them had a "moment" with Scorpius, they told each other at their next opportunity. These "moments" were few and far between for both of them, though. Scorpius had not seemed to be showing interest in either of them, to their knowledge. This was something they were used to, which is why Landry was so shocked when Scorpius tapped her on the shoulder in the corridor.

"Hello, Landry," Scorpius said, smiling at her. She blushed.

"Oh, hey Scorpius, what's up?" Landry replied.

"Oh, I just, well, you're wearing your hair differently today." he said. Landry felt as though someone had hit her with a stunning jinx.

"_Oh!_" she said, after quickly regaining her composure. "Yeah, I did," she said, running her hands along the braid she had put in her hair that morning.

There was a moment of silence.

"Right," Scorpius said, finally. "Well, it looks nice."

"Th-thank you," Landry said, shocked.

Scorpius smiled. "Well, then, I'd better head to class now. I don't want to be late. See you later, Landry!"

With that, Scorpius disappeared into the current of students walking to class. Landry stood in shock for a moment, giving herself some time to let her heart stop racing. Then she pulled her glass stone out of her pocket. This was significant, really significant. She had to tell Albus right away, so as not to break their contract. Landry tapped her stone four times. The stone turned dark, and Landry could hear muffled voices. The spell had gone through, but Albus still had the stone in his bag.

"Albus!" she shouted to the stone. There was a rustling, and after a minute of blurry shapes, Albus's face finally came into view on the stone.

"Oh, Landry," he said. "Sorry. You know I'm bad at using these stone things."

"It's alright," she replied. "I just had to tell you this right away."

"What is it?" asked Albus.

"Well, Scorpius noticed my hair," Landry said.

"Your hair?"

"Yes," Landry answered. "My hair. I wore it differently today. He just came up to me in the hall and said it looked nice."

Albus blinked. "So?" he said, confused.

"So what?" inquired Landry.

"Exactly. So what?" Albus said. "Just because he liked your hairstyle means he's in love with you? Friends compliment each other all the time, Landry. This isn't special."

Landry was shocked. Albus had never said anything like this before.

"Well, it's better than anything he's said to you," she retorted.

Albus scoffed. "Like you would know! Remember that he and I were best friends for years before you bothered to notice us!"

Landry gasped.

"Landry, I'm sorry," Albus said, returning to his usual introverted demeanor. "I just…I got jealous."

"It's okay," said Landry with a small smile. "I'm sorry too."

"The truth is that I've been struggling a lot with this situation recently," Albus confessed.

"Me too," Landry agreed.

"But it's all fine and dandy for you," Albus said with a sigh. "We know Scorpius likes girls. He had a crush on my cousin Rose for years. But…well, I don't even know if I have a chance at all. If you know what I mean."

Landry had not thought about this, but she realized now that poor Albus was right. Scorpius had never told them his sexuality, but he had only liked girls in the past. Of course, that did not mean he couldn't like someone who wasn't a girl in the future, but based on the current data that they had…things did not look good for Albus.

"I never thought of that," she said.

"It's fine," said Albus wistfully. "I wouldn't expect you to. Well, we really should be going now. Our classes start in just a couple minutes. We don't want to be late."

"You're right," Landry replied. "Talk to you later, Albus."

Albus gave a small smile before the stone went blank.

Hours later, Landry found herself studying alone in the library when someone plunked a book down in front of her.

"I've been doing research on various things that have happened in Hogwarts history, but I can't find anything about scratching noises coming from inside the walls," Pippa said, sitting down in the seat across from Landry.

"You've been doing research?" Landry asked, surprised. Her sister was not one to voluntarily read or study.

"Yes. This could be something huge! Something really exciting, like what Harry Potter and his friends did at Hogwarts! I want to go on adventures like them," Pippa exclaimed.

"Oh Pip," Landry sighed. "I know that what Harry Potter did may seem really cool and exciting, but in reality, it was also very, very dangerous," she explained. "If it is something serious, we should tell a teacher and let them handle it. I don't want you getting hurt."

Pippa sighed, but replied with a reluctant "Alright."

She turned to go.

"Pippa?" Landry called after her.

"What?"

"You returned that invisibility cloak, right?"

Pippa looked at her feet. "Ummmmmm…I forgot?"

"Go return it. Right. Now," Landry instructed.

"Okay." Pippa rolled her eyes, and with that, she was gone.

Despite what she had told Pippa, Landry was not entirely innocent from thinking about the scratching noise either. She may have even done some researching on it herself. Landry could no longer focus on her charms homework. She picked up the Hogwarts history book that Pippa had left in front of her and began to read.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Over the next couple of days, Landry found herself in a happy shock. Scorpius's complement about her hair had not been a one time thing. He often walked her to class and complemented her on various things she did. Landry was elated. Albus was not.

Landry now had a sliver of hope. It seemed as though maybe-possibly-somehow Scorpius had feelings for her, too. And because of this, she couldn't keep her feelings secret anymore. Landry decided that she was going to ask Scorpius Malfoy out on a date. The question now was when and where. "And," she thought to herself. "How am I going to tell Albus?"

She decided to consult Genevieve.

"Gen," she said to her glass stone one Friday morning. "Meet me in the Room of Requirement at lunch. I need your help."

Genevieve was there promptly at the school's designated lunch time.

"Landry!" she called out as her friend came into sight. "What is this all about?"

"Come on, I'll explain once we get inside," Landry said.

The girls entered the Room, which had returned to its original size and layout since the all-nighter. After taking their seats in the beanbag chairs, Landry began explaining the situation.

"So you know how I've been telling you that, recently, it's kind of been seeming as though Scorpius likes me?"

Genevieve nodded, as Landry had most definitely been keeping her updated on this matter. Landry took a deep breath. "Well, I've decided that I'm going to ask him out. On a date."

Genevieve jumped to her feet and shrieked with excitement. "Eeeeeek! I can't believe this is actually happening! You're finally going to tell him, after over a year of fawning over him to me!"

Landry laughed nervously. "Yes. But how do I do it?"

"Hmmm, I don't know," Genevieve said, plopping back down into her chair. "And how are you going to break it to Albus?"

Landry's breath caught in her throat at the mention of the Albus situation. She had not mentioned anything about it to Genevieve since the night she found out that Albus had feelings for Scorpius, too. The contract forbid it. Landry decided to pretend she hadn't heard Genevieve mention it. "Maybe I should ask him tonight when we're all hanging out together. I'll pull him aside and ask him."

Genevieve raised an eyebrow. She most definitely noticed that Landry had blatantly avoided mention of Albus, but decided it best not to pry. Instead, she replied, "Seems as good a time as any. Where are you taking him?"

Landry had not considered this, but an idea quickly came to her. "I'll take him to watch the Quidditch tryouts tomorrow," she said. "He loves watching Quidditch!" "_And Albus doesn't" _she thought silently.

"Oh, that's cute, he'll love that," Genevieve said with a smile. "And you'll be able to watch me kick everyone else's butts at tryouts!"

Landry laughed.

"So now that that's decided," Genevieve continued, "What do you say we go get some food?"

Later that night, Landry and Genevieve returned to the Room of Requirement for their usual hangout with Albus and Scorpius. The two boys were waiting in the room when they arrived. Landry's heart was racing in anticipation of the question she would soon be asking a certain blonde Slytherin boy.

"Hey Landry, Genevieve!" Scorpius greeted them. "How's your week been?"

Landry and Albus glanced at each other knowingly. Their week had been quite rocky. "But that may be about to change for me," thought Landry.

"Good," said Genevieve. "I've been practicing for Quidditch tryouts a lot. They're tomorrow, you know."

Landry felt a nudge on her arm. It was Genevieve. Clearly, this was Gen's way of cueing her. Landry's heart was beating faster than ever. Her hands were sweaty and shaking, and she was sure her face was probably bright red. "Well," she thought, "Here goes nothing."

"Scorpius, can I talk to you for a sec? Alone?" Landry asked.

Albus's eyes grew wide. Scorpius tilted his head in mild confusion, then said, "Sure, of course, Landry."

Suddenly, the door to the room that Albus and Landry had signed their contract in reappeared on the wall. Scorpius laughed. "Well, then, shall we?"

The two of them entered the smaller room. It was the same as Landry remembered, but was now about to serve a very different purpose. "Scorpius," Landry started. A strand of hair fell in front of her face. Scorpius hesitated for a moment, then reached out his hand and brushed it behind her ear. Landry's legs almost buckled beneath her.

"Yes?" he replied.

"Oh, yes, right," Landry said, remembering why she was there. "Scorpius, I was, um, wondering if you…maybe…possibly…wantedtogoonadatewithme?"

Scorpius's eyes widened. A flicker of something Landry could not recognize flashed across his face for a split second. She was about to panic when he cracked a smile. "Yes, I think I would like that," Scorpius replied.

Landry grinned and her heart soared. "Awesome!" she said, a bit over-excitedly. She quickly caught herself. "I mean, sounds good! Yes! How about tomorrow we go and watch the Quidditch tryouts together?"

"That sounds lovely," he said. That was when the best moment of Landry's life occurred. Scorpius leaned in and placed a short kiss on her cheek. Landry had absolutely no idea how she was still standing. She was sure there was magic involved. "Now, let's go tell the others the good news!"

Landry was about to tell him to stop, but she realized there was nothing she could do. He was bound to ask why she didn't want their best friends to know about their date, and explaining that to him would break every rule on the contract. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the larger room. "Hey, guess what, guys? Landry and I are going on a date!" Scorpius announced. Genevieve squealed and clapped. Albus deflated. Landry had never seen him look so sad and defeated. Neither had Scorpius. He did not know why his friend wouldn't be happy for him. After all, Scorpius was doing this for him. Landry was a really wonderful friend, and she was quite pretty, and being with her sounded pleasant. It was settled. But as he watched Albus's face fall, he felt his own spirits fall. Seeing Albus upset broke his heart. All Scorpius wanted to do was wrap Albus in his arms and- _no. _This was exactly why he had to go out with Landry. Albus was Scorpius's best friend, and he loved him more than anything else in the whole world. "As a friend," Scorpius thought to himself. "I love him as a friend. Landry is who I want to date." But Scorpius still couldn't help but let part of his brain wonder about why Albus looked so upset. Was there a chance? "No. _No._"

Genevieve derailed Scorpius's train of thought when she wrapped him and Landry in a hug. "I'm so happy for you!" she squealed. Landry beamed.

"Thanks," Scorpius replied. "Well, it's getting awfully late. I'd better get some sleep so that I'm fully refreshed for our _date_ tomorrow," he said, playfully pushing Landry. She giggled in response.

"Coming, Albus?" Scorpius asked.

"Um, no, I think I'll stay here a while and…study." Albus replied. He was clearly trying very hard not to cry.

Scorpius looked very concerned, but still he replied with "O-okay…" and set off to bed. Genevieve left the Room as well, and Landry was right behind her when she heard a soft sob.

"Albus…" she said, but there was nothing else to say.

"Save it, Landry," he said, sadly. "I'll be okay. Congratulations."

She smiled at him apologetically, then left the Room. As she was walking back to her dormitory, her spirits soared. Landry was utterly elated. She, Landry Beckett, was going out with the boy she had liked for over a year. Nothing could dull the happiness bursting inside her. She soon entered the Ravenclaw common room, and skipped upstairs to her dorm. The room was dark when she entered, except for the bathroom, where the light was on and the door was wide open. Landry's heart filled with worry before she could even fully comprehend what she was looking at. There was Destiny, holding a pair of regular craft scissors in her hands. She was standing in front of the mirror, and, scattered all around the bathroom were clumps of dark hair. Destiny had cut off all of her hair. She was almost completely bald on the back and sides, but had left the chunk of hair on the top of her head relatively long. "Destiny?" Landry said, shocked. Destiny jumped, startled by the sudden noise.

"Landry, oh my gosh," she said, looking up at Landry. With all her hair gone, Landry could finally see her face fully, for the first time in years. Landry felt a funny sensation flutter inside her chest that she could not identify.

"Destiny, what…how…why…?"

Destiny tensed up at the mention of her name. "Please…please don't call me that." she said.

Landry was more confused than ever now. "What?" she questioned.

It was then that Destiny realized what she had just said. "I…um…I have to go," she said. With that, she dropped the scissors and raced out of the room.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Landry's roommate, formerly known as Destiny, did not return to the dormitory that night, and she was not there when Landry woke up. On any other day, Landry would have gone looking for her, but today was not just any day. Today was Landry's date with Scorpius. She pulled herself out of bed before any of her other roommates were awake, and took over the bathroom with her various beauty products. The long, dark hair was still all over the bathroom, so Landry "wingardium leviosa" -ed the hair into a bag in case her roommate wanted it back. Then she set to work. Landry wanted to look better than she ever had before in her life. She used a couple of makeup charms and braided her hair into the same style that Scorpius had complimented the other day. Next she sorted through her entire closet to find something to wear. Once Landry was satisfied with her appearance, she headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Along the way she thought she heard the still mysterious scratching noise, but she ignored it. Landry was not going to let _anything_ ruin this day.

As she entered the Great Hall, she observed all the other students eating. Sure, for some of them it was a special day as well, since a lot of students were about to be trying out for their house Quidditch teams. But for most of them, today was just the same as any other day. Landry wondered what it would feel like to exist on this day and have it seem as though it was just like any other. She did not have a clue, for already her palms were becoming sweaty in anticipation of her date. It was then that she spotted Genevieve, who waved her over from across the hall. "You're up early!" exclaimed Genevieve as Landry approached.

"I had to get ready," Landry explained. "It's a big day…for both of us."

"It is indeed. I'm so nervous, but also excited!" Genevieve said. "I hope I make the team!"

"I'm sure you will," Landry replied. "Meanwhile, I can barely breathe. I feel like I've been Confunded! I can't believe this is finally, actually happening. It's surreal."

"I'm so happy for you, Landry," Genevieve said with a smile. "You've been wanting this for so long. And you deserve it."

"Thanks, Gen. That means a lot." said Landry.

A few hours later, the two girls walked down to the Quidditch pitch. Landry and Genevieve were both filled with nervousness, for entirely different reasons from each other, for course. Landry's heart started pounding even faster than it already was when she spotted Scorpius standing at the entrance to the stands. "Good luck," whispered Landry to Genevieve as they parted ways.

"You too!" she replied.

"Hi," said Scorpius.

"Hello," replied Landry. She did not know what to say or do. Normally she had no trouble talking to Scorpius, but in this situation she was at a loss. The pair stood awkwardly for a few moments before Scorpius broke the silence.

"So, um…do you want to go find a seat?" he asked. Landry nodded, grateful for something to do to distract herself from her nerves.

"I'm excited to see Genevieve play," Scorpius continued. "I don't think I ever have before. Honestly, I haven't seen many Quidditch games in general. Albus isn't really fond of them."

It was then that Landry was reminded of Albus. She wondered how he was doing, and if he was okay.

"Well, this isn't quite the same as a game, but it should be fun nonetheless. I mean, we'll be together, won't we?" Landry flirted.

"Yes, we will," Scorpius said, smiling.

After they had climbed many, many, many flights of stairs, Landry and Scorpius took their seats in the stand. Below them, they could see all of the players standing around the field on the ground, not yet having taken off on their broomsticks yet. Landry was hoping this date would take off soon, too. She decided to attempt to make that happen.

"Hey Scorpius, remember that time last year whenever we came down to the pitch and lay on the grass to look at the stars?" Landry asked.

"Oh yeah," Scorpius replied. "Albus pointed out all of the stars and constellations, including all of the ones my relatives were named after."

"Right," said Landry. "And when you were looking up at the sky, before we all lay down, you leaned your head back too far and fell over and I caught you. In reality it took everything in me not to fall over too. I already liked you, even back then," Landry said with a laugh.

Scorpius smiled, and Landry felt something touch her hand. It was Scorpius's own hand, wrapped around hers. Landry felt as though she was about to melt, even though it was quite cold outside. This moment seemed perfect.

Just then, the pair heard a loud cough from behind them. They both turned around at the noise, and, much to the surprise of both of them, there was Albus.

"Albus?" asked Scorpius, confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I just thought I'd come to see tryouts," he replied, as casually as he could manage. Landry was furious. Albus hated Quidditch, there was no possible way he had come to simply watch tryouts. He had obviously come to interfere with Landry's date, which was strictly against the contract that they had both signed.

"Hey, Scorpius, why don't you go get us some snacks? There's a food cart just one flight down on the landing, remember?"

Scorpius nodded. "Yeah, okay, sounds good! I'll be right back," he replied.

As soon as Scorpius was out of sight, Landry whirled around to face Albus. "How dare you, Albus!" she said angrily.

Albus feigned surprise. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about, Landry. I'm only here to watch tryouts."

Landry laughed drily. "Oh, please! You and I both know that you're here to ruin my date! That's strictly against our contract, remember? No interfering with each other's attempts to date Scorpius!"

Albus scoffed. "Right, like you _asking him out _isn't interfering with my chances,"

"Stop it, Albus! You just need to face the truth. He chose me. He likes me. _Not_ you. So please, just _GO AWAY!" _Landry shouted.

Albus opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. His eyes welled up with tears. "Fine," he said, and with that, he raced out of the stands. As he was leaving, he brushed past Scorpius, who was returning with the snacks.

"Woah, where's Albus headed, going so fast?" he asked.

"I don't know," lied Landry, guiltily.

"Hmmm," said Scorpius, furrowing his brow in concern. "He seemed kind of upset. I think I'm going to go see if I can find him. I'll be right back," he called as he left the stand. Landry deflated. Albus had successfully interfered.

Meanwhile, Scorpius was searching high and low for his best friend. He was sure he had seen tears in Albus's eyes as he ran past. He still did not know why Albus had even come to watch the tryouts, as he had never before shown any interest in watching Quidditch. But that didn't matter right now, because if Albus was upset, then Scorpius was, too. That's how it worked. Scorpius dashed down the stairs, looking around wildly as he went, calling Albus's name. When he reached the very bottom, Scorpius heard soft sobs sounding from nearby. He followed the noise to underneath the stands, and ducked under the fabric covering to find Albus sitting on one of the support beams. Sure enough, he was crying. "Albus? What's wrong?" Scorpius said softly.

Albus jumped, startled by Scorpius's sudden arrival. "Nothing, nothing," he said, quickly wiping his eyes. "I'm fine. Just fine."

Scorpius did not buy this for a second. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Suddenly, Albus burst into tears. Scorpius ran to him and wrapped his arms around his friend. "Albus, please, tell me what's wrong. Maybe there's something I can do to help?"

This only made Albus cry harder. "That's just the thing, Scorpius. There's nothing you can do. There's nothing that anyone can do."

"Albus, you can tell me anything. I'm your best friend. I love you." Scorpius said. If only Albus knew how true that was.

"Alright," said Albus with a sniff. "It's not like it matters now anyways."

Albus took a deep breath. "I like you, Scorpius. As more than a friend. I have for a while now, but you don't like me that way. You like Landry, and I get it. It's fine. You don't even like boys at all, that I know of. And even if you did, why would you like me anyways? I'm nothing special. It's okay though, don't feel bad, please. It's not your fault. Let's just forget this ever happened. You go back to your date and when I see you later I'll just act like this never even happened."

Scorpius's mind was swirling with more emotions than he had ever dreamt of feeling. Albus liked him. _Albus liked him._ It was more than he could even begin to comprehend. Floodgates opened inside of his mind, and all the feelings he had been holding back washed over him all at once. He had been denying it for weeks, even months now, and could no longer pretend otherwise. He had completely fallen for Albus Potter. And Albus Potter had fallen for him. All this time he had been shoving his feelings aside as to spare his friendship with Albus, when in reality Albus had been doing the very same thing.

"Scorpius?" Albus questioned.

Scorpius could not hold back. Laughter bubbled out of him, and before Albus could even think of a response, Scorpius kissed him. Scorpius Malfoy was kissing Albus Potter, and Albus was kissing him back and nothing had ever seemed so right.

It was then that everything came crashing down.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Landry was growing concerned that Scorpius would never return to the stands. He had been gone for quite a while now. She wondered what could be taking him so long…

Landry gave away the snacks she was holding to the other students sitting in the stand and headed down the many flights of stairs to search for her date. As she neared the bottom, she tried to think of where Scorpius might go looking for Albus. Just then, she heard muffled voices coming from under the stand. It sounded like Albus. "And I bet Scorpius is with him," Landry thought to herself. She pulled aside the fabric covering that decorated the structure that was holding up the stand. And her heart shattered.

Scorpius and Albus were sitting on one of the support beams, arms wrapped around each other. And they were kissing. Landry gasped. The boys immediately jumped apart, and both looked absolutely horrified to see her.

"What….how…." Landry tried to say, but she was at a loss.

"Landry, I…" Scorpius trailed off. He did not know what to say to her.

"I…Albus, we….we had a _contract_! You signed it, you promised! You just broke every single rule on the list!"

Albus's shocked expression suddenly turned dark. "You know what Landry? I don't care about your stupid contract," he said. "Scorpius is not some product we should be signing off on! I'm done with it. Scorpius is the one who should be deciding who he wants to be with. Not you. Not me. Not anyone but himself!"

Landry knew that Albus was right. But she could not bear to face it.

"Scorpius?" she questioned, using her one last sliver of hope to look up at him.

Scorpius looked at Albus, then at Landry, then back at Albus. He sighed. "I'm so sorry, Landry…" Scorpius said. He knew now that he just didn't like Landry romantically. "Why don't we all just sit down and talk about this?"

Tears were streaming down Landry's cheeks now. She was utterly broken.

"I-I'm sorry. I can't. I just can't," she cried. "And Albus, I guess we are done with the contract," she said through tears. "Which means we don't have to follow rule number five anymore."

Landry turned around and ran as fast as she could back towards the castle.

"What was rule number five?" asked Scorpius.

Albus sighed. "That Landry and I had to stay friends."

—

Landry had stopped crying by the time she reached the Ravenclaw common room. In fact, she was already drafting her apology to Albus and Scorpius in her head. She knew she was in the wrong, but she was also utterly heartbroken. Landry wasn't sure if what hurt more; the loss of her and Scorpius as a romance, or the loss of both Albus and Scorpius as her friends. She thought maybe it was the latter. As she started up the stairs to her dorm, she saw a familiar head of chopped hair ascending ahead of her. Landry had not seen not-Destiny since the previous night when she had walked in on her cutting off all of her hair. Despite what had just happened to her, Landry was still very concerned about her roommate. She was about to call out to not-Destiny when suddenly, the stairs underneath her disappeared. Landry and her roommate went sliding down the stairs, and landed in a heap on the floor.

"What in the name of Dumbledore just happened?" Landry asked.

Not-Destiny looked at Landry wordlessly.

"The stairs only do that when someone who isn't a girl tries to go up them. I don't understand," continued Landry.

"I'm transgender," said not-Destiny.

"What?"

"I'm not a girl. I'm a boy. That's why the stairs didn't let me up," he explained.

"Wait, so where are you going to sleep?" Landry asked.

Suddenly, the two teenagers heard someone clear their throat. They both turned to see that one of the paintings on the wall was addressing them.

"I think you'll find that all of your things are waiting for you by your new bed in the boy's dormitory," said the painting to not-Destiny.

For the first time all year, Landry saw her former roommate smile. The same odd feeling from the other night fluttered through her chest. But the smile only lasted a moment, for soon the boy's face grew worried again.

"Landry, please don't tell anyone yet," he asked. "I mean, I'll have to tell my new roommates soon, but…please don't tell anyone else. I don't think I'm quite ready to come out to everyone yet. I only just figured this out myself."

Landry smiled. "I promise I won't, De…" she cut herself off. "What do you want me to call you?" Landry asked. "I mean, what's your name?"

"Miles," said Miles, without skipping a single beat.

"Well then, I promise I won't tell anyone, Miles," Landry replied.

"Thank you," Miles said.

Just then, Landry's glass stone started shaking in her pocket. "Sorry, I have to get this," she said as she took it out.

Miles's eyes grew wide. "Wow, is that a phone? How is it working on school grounds?" he asked.

"It's kind of like a phone," Landry explained. "My friend Genevieve and I made them. They basically work just like a phone call would."

"That's so cool!" said Miles.

"Thanks," said Landry, with a smile. "I can make you one if you want!"

"I would love that!" said Miles enthusiastically.

"Okay, I will! Now, I've really got to answer this," Landry said apologetically. I'll talk to you later, Miles!"

Miles waved at her and, with a deep breath, walked up the stairs to his new dorm.

Landry tapped the stone once, and saw Genevieve's face appear in it.

"Hey, Landry," Genevieve said cautiously. "How are you? Albus and Scorpius told me what happened."

The events of the Quidditch tryouts came rushing back into Landry's mind.

"I'm alright," said Landry. "Or, I will be."

Genevieve smiled sympathetically. "Scorpius wanted me to tell you that he's really sorry about what happened and that he would really like to talk to you and sort things out." she said.

"How about Albus?" Landry asked hopefully.

"He didn't really say much," Genevieve answered. "He seemed pretty upset though."

"And…" Landry gulped. "Did they seem…um…_together?_"

Genevieve gave Landry an apologetic look. "They were clinging to each other the entire time I was talking to them. I hate to say this, Landry, but they seemed really, _really _in lo…_together."_

Landry sighed. "It's okay, Genevieve. I'm glad that they're happy. I truly am. It just…hurts. A lot."

"I know, honey," Genevieve comforted. "I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks, Gen," Landry said with a sad smile. Just then, Landry remembered something. "Wait, Genevieve!" Landry exclaimed. "How were tryouts? Did you make the team?"

Genevieve's face lit up. "Say hello to the new Hufflepuff keeper!" she squealed.

"Congratulations, Gen!" cried Landry. "I'm so happy for you! And proud, too!"

Genevieve giggled. "Thanks, Landry! Now, I'm so sorry, but I've gotta go. The team is going to Hogsmeade to celebrate!"

"Okay," replied Landry. "Bye!"

The stone went clear. Landry looked at it for a moment, then decided she would spend the rest of her day charming a stone for her new friend Miles.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Landry woke up early the next day. She had slept well, with only one brief disturbance from the mysterious scratching noise, which was becoming increasingly more difficult to ignore. It had been going on for nearly a month and a half now, and Landry was starting to grow more concerned. Maybe this was something to worry about. But it was not on Landry's mind on this particular morning. It was a Sunday, and Landry was not sure what she was going to do. Normally she spent Sundays with Albus, Scorpius, and Genevieve, but Landry still did not feel ready to face the boys yet. She wasn't sure if she ever would. Landry had tried to contact Genevieve on her glass stone, but she had not picked up. "Probably still asleep," Landry concluded. "She was most likely up late last night celebrating with her new team."

That was when Landry remembered she had something to deliver. She had worked hard last night charming a glass stone for Miles, and she was very excited to deliver it to him. She wondered if he had plans for the day.

Landry pulled herself out of bed and padded downstairs to the common room in her pajamas and slippers. She was happy to find that Miles was in the common room, sitting in front of the fireplace, studying for transfiguration class. "Hey, Miles," she said, approaching him.

He smiled at her. "Hi, Landry," said Miles. "here, sit next to me!" Miles scooted over on the couch to make room for Landry. She sat beside him, and pulled out the glass stone she had made for him.

"Here's the glass stone I promised you," she said, handing it to him. "If you want to talk to someone, just tap the stone four times with your wand and think about who you want to talk to. If someone is trying to contact you, it will vibrate. Tap it once to answer." she explained.

"Wow, thanks!" said Miles, tucking the stone into his pocket. "You made that quickly, I'm impressed!"

"Thank you! I just duplicated my stone and did some charm work," said Landry, blushing. She, yet again, felt that odd fluttery sensation in her chest.

"So, Landry, I kind of have a favor to ask," said Miles.

"What is it?" Landry inquired.

"Well, the thing is," he began, "I would really like to start transitioning. It would make me feel more comfortable, and just generally more 'me.' I want to go ask Madame Pomfrey about various options, but I don't really want to go by myself. And you're the only person I've come out to so far…"

"Sure, of course I'll come!" said Landry happily. "What are friends for?"

Miles grinned. "Thanks, Landry!" he said.

"Wait, so what happened with your new roommates last night?" Landry asked, remembering that Miles had been nervous about this.

Miles grimaced. "They all got food poisoning from a bad batch of treacle tart from that shady new bakery down in Hogsmeade, so they all had to spend the night in the hospital wing. I've heard they're all fine now though, thanks to Madame Pomfrey's medicine. So I got to hold off on telling them for an extra day. But I think I'm going to have to tell them tonight."

"I really hope it goes well," Landry said, with a comforting smile.

"Thanks," said Miles. "I'm honestly not really sure what I want to do about coming out. I've been thinking about it a lot since last night when I told you. Part of me feels ready, but the other part of me doesn't. I'm very glad I told you, though," he explained. "It makes me very happy to have someone besides myself know my name."

"I like the name Miles a lot," Landry stated. "It sounds very nice. And it suits you. You look like a Miles."

Miles giggled. "Thanks?" he questioned.

"It was a complement," Landry confirmed. "Now, would you like to come downstairs with me and get some breakfast?"

"Yeah, sure," said Miles. "Then maybe we could go see Madame Pomfrey? Unless you have other plans."

"I don't," Landry said. "Let's go!"

The pair left the common room and began to walk towards the Great Hall. Along the way, Landry noticed Miles pulling on his hair nervously, as though he was trying to make his bangs long enough to cover his face again. "Miles?" Landry questioned. "Are you alright?"

Miles sighed. "I'm just a little nervous about my hair. This is my first…public appearance since I cut it all off. I kind of always relied on it to protect me. I know that sounds silly, but it was there and it sort of shielded me from the world around me. Don't get me wrong, I hated it. I'm very glad to be rid of it. But I feel rather vulnerable with it all gone." he explained.

"It will be okay, Miles," comforted Landry. "Hey, if you want, you can borrow my hair," Landry said, taking a strand of her own long hair and draping it over Miles's head. He burst out laughing.

"How do I look?" he asked, doing some ridiculous model poses.

Landry laughed and removed her hair from his head. "I think you look quite good with short hair, Miles." she said. Miles's face turned red.

"Oh. Thank you," he said, smiling.

Landry and Miles soon reached the Great Hall. Landry had successfully distracted Miles from his nerves about his new haircut, and they entered the hall happily, still smiling and giggling to themselves. Then Landry's face fell.

"Landry? What's wrong? asked Miles, noticing her upset expression.

"Albus and Scorpius are here," she said.

Miles blinked, confused. "Aren't they your friends?" he asked.

"They…I don't know," confessed Landry.

"Did something happen?" asked Miles.

"Yeah. You could say that," Landry said.

Just then, Scorpius kissed Albus on the cheek. Landry's eyes burned with tears. She blinked them back.

"Why don't we go? We can come back later once they're gone." Miles suggested. Landry nodded in agreement, and the two teenagers left the hall.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Miles asked.

Landry did. As she and Miles walked towards the hospital wing, Landry explained the whole story to him, from beginning to end. After she was done talking, Miles said, "Wow. I'm really, really sorry, Landry. That totally sucks."

Landry sighed. "It's okay," she said. "I'm not completely innocent here, either. I'm glad they're both happy, it just kind of stings to see someone I liked for so long kissing someone else. But honestly, I'm more upset about possibly losing their friendship."

"Well, I'm here for you. If you need me," said Miles.

Landry smiled. "Thank you. I'm here for you, too."

Soon they arrived at the hospital wing. Miles was happy to see that it was empty. Madame Pomfrey was making the beds when Landry and Miles walked in.

"What exactly do you want me to do?" Landry asked. "Like, how much do you want me to say?"

Miles considered this. "If you could just get me started, that would be great. But I'd like to tell her myself."

"Of course," Landry replied.

The two walked up to Madame Pomfrey.

"Excuse me? Madame Pomfrey?" Landry questioned.

Madame Pomfrey turned around to face them. "Hello dears," she said. "What do you need?"

"Um, Mi….my friend has something that they would like to talk to you about," said Landry.

Madame Pomfrey turned to face Miles. "Yes, what is it, dear?" she asked.

Miles took a deep, slow breath. "Well," he began. "I recently realized that I'm transgender. I'm a boy, not a girl. And, well, I was wondering what my options were for starting to transition, as well as options for further down the road," explained Miles.

"Oh, I see," said Madame Pomfrey with a kind smile. "Well," she paused. "I'm sorry, young man, I didn't seem to catch your name?"

"Miles," said Miles.

"Ah, yes, well then, Miles," she began, "we have many options here for you. Here, let's go back into my storeroom and see what we've got."

Madame Pomfrey led Miles and Landry through a door and into a large room filled with shelves. The shelves were filled with many different potions, spell books, and supplies for any medical need you could imagine. Madame Pomfrey grabbed a large box from one of the shelves and set it down on an exam table that was standing against the wall. She patted the table next to the box and said, "Have a seat, Miles."

Miles sat. Madame Pomfrey began rummaging through her box, and soon pulled something out of it. "This is a chest binder," she explained. "It was invented by muggles, but here we've put some spells on it so that it's much more comfortable than it would be otherwise. For muggles, it's important not to wear it for too long, since it can damage your ribs, along with other things if you do. The magic we've done on this one will prevent that for you, though."

"And…it will…make my chest look flat?" Miles asked hopefully.

"Yes, it will," Madame Pomfrey confirmed.

Miles's face lit up. "Could I…could I try it on?" he asked.

"Of course! It's yours now," she replied. "There's a bathroom right over there."

Miles jumped off the table and quickly headed to the bathroom to try on his binder. It was just then that a thought occurred to Landry.

"Madame Pomfrey," Landry started, "Since Miles is a boy, how come the stairs to the girls' dorm used to let him up? They don't anymore, but they did for years. Why is that?" she asked.

"Well," said Madame Pomfrey, "Nobody really knows for sure what the magic of this castle is truly capable of. But my theory is that the castle recognizes that it's something a person has to realize for themselves."


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Several hours later, Landry and Miles left the hospital wing. Miles was wearing his new binder, and he had set up a schedule with Madame Pomfrey to come back each day after classes to take his testosterone and voice deepening potions. Since Miles was 17, that made him a legal adult in the Wizarding world, so he was allowed to start his medical transition without his parents' approval. Miles was relieved about this, since he was not at all sure about whether or not his parents would accept him. But he was not thinking about that at the moment. In fact, Landry thought that he looked happier now than she had ever seen him before. And this made Landry very happy, as well. Even though they had only just become friends, the two were growing close very quickly. Landry was exceptionally glad that he was her friend now, especially in the absence of Albus and Scorpius, not to mention Genevieve, who was off doing who knows what with her new teammates. Landry did not know, but Miles was very grateful for Landry's friendship as well. She was the first real friend he had ever had.

The pair was walking back to the Ravenclaw common room when Landry heard a familiar noise. The scratching sound was back, this time seeming to be coming from above them, in the ceiling. Landry stopped in her tracks. Miles did, too. They looked at each other. "Did you hear that, too?" asked Miles. Landry nodded.

"I've been hearing it since the start of term, all around the castle," Landry explained.

"Me, too!" exclaimed Miles. "I've been meaning to check out a book on Morse code from the library."

Landry was confused. "What? Morse code? What does that have to do with anything?"

Miles was surprised. "Oh, I figured you knew! It's m=Morse code. At least, I think it is. The scratching is Morse code."

Suddenly, an invisible voice rang out. "I knew it!" the voice exclaimed. Landry narrowed her eyes.

"Pippa? I know it's you, take off the cloak," Landry said, crossing her arms. Slowly, Pippa removed the cloak and came into view.

"Pippa, how many times do I have to tell you to return that cloak?" Landry scolded.

"Lily said I could borrow it!" defended Pippa. "Or rather, rent it. I used my birthday money to rent it until the Holiday break! Lily still gets visitation hours with it, though."

"Oh, Pippa," Landry sighed.

"Anyways, I knew it was Morse code, I just knew it!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I've been studying for weeks. Honestly, I'm surprised _you're_ the Ravenclaw, sis!"

"Oh, so this is your sister," said Miles. Landry nodded.

"Yep, this is Pippa. Pippa, meet…" Landry stopped short. She did not want to deadname Miles, but also did not want to out him without his permission. She turned to him with a kind, questioning look.

"Miles," said Miles, smiling.

"Is Miles your boyfriend?" Pippa asked her sister loudly. Landry's face turned bright red, as did Miles's. Landry was not prepared for how flustered this question made her.

"_Pippa!" _Landry said with a nervous laugh. "Um, no, Miles and I are just friends."

"Yes, just friends," echoed Miles. He was clearly equally flustered.

Pippa smirked. "Okaaaaay," she said, her eyebrows raising in amusement. "Anyways, now that we've all agreed that this is Morse code we're dealing with, why don't we head to the library and leaf through some books?" suggested Pippa.

Miles looked at Landry questioningly. Landry shrugged. "Sure, Pip, why not. If this really is Morse code we're dealing with, we're probably just on the edge of cracking this case."

"Yes!" exclaimed Pippa. "Let's go!"

"Can we meet you there in 10 minutes?" asked Landry. "I'm kind of still in my pajamas."

Pippa rolled her eyes. "No need for that," she said, whipping out her wand. "Clothespeari!" she said, pointing the wand at Landry. Suddenly, Landry's pajamas were replaced by some jeans and a sweater.

"There you go," said Pippa, stowing her wand. "Let's go, shall we?"

Miles let out a laugh. He was clearly quite entertained by Pippa. "I quite like your sister," he said.

The three students went to the library, with Pippa leading the way. Once they arrived, Pippa set to work on pulling out every book there was about Morse code. She stacked them all on top of each other, then "Wingardium leviosa"-ed the pile over to a table. Each of them took one up and started reading. After only a few minutes, they were all entirely certain that the mysterious scratching noise was Morse code. In fact, Landry was feeling terribly foolish for not coming to this realization sooner. She was mentally scolding herself when something dawned on her. All this time, she had assumed the noise was some sort of animal. But, if it really was Morse code, this meant it was most certainly not. "Um, guys," she said, with worry. "You do realize that, if this is truly Morse code we're dealing with, that means that there are…_people _in the walls of Hogwarts?"

Pippa nodded solemnly. Landry gulped.

"Don't you think we ought to tell a teacher about this?" she suggested.

Miles agreed, saying "Yes, for sure. Maybe even the Headmistress!"

Pippa screwed up her face. "No, don't do that! I want to solve this by ourselves, like Harry Potter did!" she whined.

"Pip, I know what Mr. Potter did was incredible, but he had lots of help doing it. He wasn't alone, and if this is something serious, we shouldn't be alone either. We have to tell Professor McGonagall," Landry said, softly. Miles nodded in agreement.

Pippa sighed. "Okay, I guess we can tell her, then," she said, giving in.

"I'm glad you agree," said Landry. "Why don't we go see if we can tell her right now?"

Pippa's expression grew excited again, and she nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, let's go right now!" she exclaimed, grabbing hold of one wrist from each of the teenagers and dragging them out of the library. Miles and Landry had to run to keep up with spritely little Pippa, but soon they reached the entryway to the Headmistress's quarters. They then realized that none of them had ever been to the Headmistress's office before, and they did not know the password needed to enter. Luckily for them, Professor McGonagall had been returning to her office after having tea with Professor Longbottom, and she walked up behind them. They all jumped when she cleared her throat.

"What may I do for you?" she asked, intimidatingly.

Landry was about to speak when Pippa stepped forward. "Hello Professor, I'm Pippa AnnLynn Beckett, and this is my sister Landry and our friend Miles. We have to talk to you about something extremely important, right away!" Pippa said.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "Very well," she said. "Let us go somewhere more private to have this discussion, then, if it is as important as you claim."

The Headmistress cried "Sherbet lemon!" and the large, extremely hideous gargoyle statue standing in the empty corridor sprang into motion, stepping aside to reveal a stone staircase coming up from out of the floor. As it began to rise, McGonagall stepped onto it, and prompted the children to follow. They did, and the stairs rose upwards, eventually delivering them to a set of giant wooden doors. McGonagall pushed them open and led the students into her office. It was just as it had looked in the days of Headmaster Dumbledore, large and circular, with many paintings of the former Headmasters and Headmistresses coating the walls. Landry, Miles, and Pippa looked around in awe, but McGonagall soon called them over to her desk, and the three sat before it in chairs that were far too large for them.

"Now, what seems to be the problem?" asked McGonagall, folding her hands and placing them on the desk in front of her.

Pippa was again the one to speak. "Well, Headmistress, the thing is that ever since the start of term, Landry, Miles and I have been hearing these odd scratching noises. They can happen at any time, anywhere in the castle. Today we came to the conclusion that these scratches are Morse code. We thought you should know right away in case it may be something dangerous."

McGonagall's stern expression turned to concern. "Morse code?" she asked. "Since the start of term?"

Pippa nodded.

"I see. And are you absolutely sure about this?" McGonagall inquired.

"Well, I wouldn't say one hundred percent sure, as none of us are fluent in Morse code, but we're around ninety nine percent sure," Pippa explained.

McGonagall nodded solemnly. "Thank you very much for bringing this to my attention, though I do wish you had told me sooner. I unfortunately cannot monitor all of this myself, since I am only one witch and, if it is as you say, all around the castle, I can't be in all of those places at once. At least not anymore, after the destruction of the last time turners two years ago. But there is a spell I can do. It will record all of the Morse code that is used inside the castle on a piece of parchment. This spell does, however, work by the month. The translation will appear exactly four weeks from when I perform the spell. Until then, I highly encourage you students not to engage. In fact, I demand it. Is that clear?"

Landry and Miles nodded, as did Pippa, though more reluctantly than the teenagers.

"Very good. Now, if you please, I have a spell to cast. And please do try not to worry yourselves, children."

"Thank you, Professor," said Landry.

The three students headed for the door. Pippa exited, but just as Landry and Miles were about to follow her, McGonagall called back to them. Or rather, Miles.

"Miles?" she questioned. He turned back to face her.

"Yes, Professor?" he replied, nervously.

"Would you like me to change your name and gender in our school records?" she asked. Miles was surprised. In all the commotion of the situation, he had completely forgotten that she did not know before today that he was a boy named Miles and not a girl named Destiny. He had definitely not planned on coming out to the Headmistress on this day, but he didn't feel upset about it by any means.

"Yes, please," he replied to her with a small and wary smile.

"Wonderful," she said. "Shall I notify your teachers as well?"

Miles considered this. He, of course, did not enjoy being misgendered by his professors, but he also was not sure that he felt ready to be fully out yet. "Yes please, but could you possibly ask them to only address me with my new name and pronouns privately? For the time being," he requested.

"Of course," replied McGonagall.

"Thank you," said Miles.

With that, the two teenagers left the Headmistress's office, leaving her with far more weight on her shoulders than before.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Landry slept easily that night after such an eventful day. Luckily, she was not bothered by the scratching noise that night, for had she been, she probably would not have been able to sleep at all. Now that she knew that the scratching was Morse code, it had been taken to a whole new level of terrifying. She now knew without a doubt that there was a creature within the walls of Hogwarts that could use Morse code, which meant it most definitely knew what it was , there was no denying that whatever it was was there for a reason. Landry could only hope that the reason was not a sinister one.

The next morning was, of course, Monday. Landry did not dislike Mondays in the slightest, in fact, she was rather fond of her classes. Having been used to mathematics and science as a child, Potions class and Ancient Runes were absolutely fascinating to Landry. She was, as usual, the first of her roommates to wake up. After getting dressed in her school robes and spraying herself with her favorite perfume that smelled _exactly_ like freshly baked cookies, she grabbed the glass stone off of her bedside table. She immediately saw that she had missed a "call" from Genevieve. Landry was relieved that Genevieve had called her, as she had not heard from her at all the previous day. She quickly tapped the stone four times, and soon Genevieve's face appeared in the stone. It was loud wherever she was, and she was surrounded by a lot of people. She was laughing at something someone had said when she turned to face the stone.

"Hey, Landry," she said, still giggling.

"Hi," said Landry happily. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, my teammate Roger was just telling me about this time that he caught the snitch while hanging upside-down like a sloth!" Genevieve said.

"Oh, sounds fun," stated Landry. "So, I was going to ask if you wanted to go get breakfast together, but it seems like you're already occupied"

Genevieve gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Landry," she said. "The team and I went down to Hogsmeade for breakfast. But I'll see you later, yeah? Oh, and tell Professor Ableman that I won't be in Potions today! The team and I are spending all of today practicing!"

"Yes, of course! Have fun!" Landry said.

"Bye!" said Genevieve, and the stone went clear. Not for long though, as Landry immediately tapped the stone four times again, and soon Miles was smiling back at her from the glass.

"Good morning, Landry!" he said.

"Hello, Miles! How are you? How did coming out to your roommates go?"

Miles smiled. "It went pretty good! Three out of four of them were very accepting, the fourth just didn't really understand. But I think it's going to be okay!"

That's great!" exclaimed Landry.

"I thought so, too. Hey, do you want to go grab breakfast with me?" asked Miles.

"Definitely!" replied Landry.

"Awesome, I'll meet you in the common room in 30 seconds!"

Landry's stone went clear, and she stuck it into her pocket. She grabbed her school bag and hurried down to the common room. Miles was already there, and he grinned and waved when he saw Landry. Instead of wearing the skirt he had always worn with his uniform, Miles was now wearing a pair of very large pants, which must've been held up with magic. Or a very good belt.

Hi," Miles said when Landry approached. "Don't mind the pants, I borrowed them from a roommate. I was not about to wear that horrid skirt ever again. Not that it's horrid on you! It looks great on you, Landry. Just…I didn't like it very much." Miles explained.

Landry felt the fluttery feeling in her chest yet again. This seemed to happen a lot when she was with Miles, she realized. She wondered why.

"Well, I'm glad you don't have to wear the skirt anymore if you didn't like it, but those pants are…how do I put this…" Landry trailed off.

"They look like a tent," said Miles, bursting into giggles.

Landry laughed too. "Precisely. Why don't we go to Hogsmeade after classes-and after you take your potions at the Hospital wing-and I'll help you pick out some new clothes. Including school pants that aren't ten sizes too big for you," Landry suggested.

"That would be amazing," Miles said. "I definitely need some new clothes for my new look," he said, gesturing to his hair.

"Then it's settled. Now, let's go get some food!" said Miles.

The two teenagers went down to the Great Hall. Unfortunately for Landry, a certain pair of Slytherins were in the Great Hall as well. Landry was still very unsure of her feelings about that whole situation. Landry, much to her surprise, didn't feel jealous when she looked at them this morning. In fact, she wasn't sure if jealousy had ever been the right word to describe how she felt seeing Albus and Scorpius together. No, it was more hurt than jealous. Landry felt hurt that Albus had kissed someone that he knew she liked. But, Landry realized, hadn't she done the same thing when she had asked Scorpius on a date? Landry sighed, confused at what she had just discovered. Miles noticed her concern. "Do you want to leave, Landry?" he asked in a soft voice. Landry shook her head.

"No, I just…kind of…realized something," she replied.

"What did you realize, if you don't mind me asking?" Miles wondered.

"I'm not jealous. Like…at all," said Landry.

"You mean jealous of Albus?" Miles inquired.

"Yeah. I don't feel jealous. I just feel hurt that Albus kissed Scorpius whenever he knew I liked him. But I did the same type of thing when I asked Scorpius out. I'm not sure what to think. And I'm a little puzzled by this, too. I was practically in love with Scorpius. Shouldn't I be jealous?"

Miles thought for a moment. "I can't tell you how you're feeling, Landry. I wish I could, because you're my friend and I care about you, and I would help you if I could. But I can't. I'm sorry."

"No, don't be sorry," said Landry. "I don't really have to figure this out right now, do I? Let's just eat breakfast."

Miles smiled. "Okay," he said.

The two took their seat at the table that the Ravenclaws always sat at when sitting according to house. The breakfast buffet was laid out before them, and each of them began filling their plates. Landry laughed as Miles took an exceptionally large quantity of cinnamon toast. "You must really like cinnamon," Landry said, giggling.

"Don't judge me, Landry! Nothing to see here. Just a boy who really loves cinnamon toast," Miles replied, laughing just as much. "Besides, that isn't exactly a normal amount of baked beans you've put on your plate!"

Classes that day seemed to go by very slowly. Landry was genuinely excited to be going to Hogsmeade with Miles. After her final class was over, she quickly used a spell to vanish her school bag to her dorm room, and used the "clothespeari" jinx she had learned from her little sister to swap out her long school robe for a blue windbreaker that matched her uniform. Then Landry hurried off to meet Miles at the Hospital wing.

Miles was just leaving the Hospital after taking his potions when Landry arrived.

"Hey Landry! Right on time," he said.

"Wow, Miles! Your voice is already sounding deeper after only two doses of potion!" Landry noticed.

Miles grinned. "You think so?" he asked hopefully.

"Oh, definitely!" Landry confirmed. "Now let's go find you some pants that look less like someone transfigured the bottom half of you into an erumpant."

It was a crisp day in late October, with Halloween just around the corner. Leaves crunched beneath their feet as Landry and Miles made their way down the path to Hogsmeade.

"So did you hear that Professor Longbottom is throwing a Halloween party in the greenhouses?" Miles asked Landry.

She shook her head. "No, that sounds so cool!" she exclaimed.

"I thought so," Miles said. "Everyone in the school is invited. And get this…it's a Masquerade ball! Everyone is expected to dress up in fancy clothes and wear masks!"

"Woah, where are we going to find fancy clothes on such short notice? " Landry pointed out.

"Maybe we'll find some today in Hogsmeade," replied Miles.

The two soon reached Hogsmeade, and as they walked towards the store that sold Hogwarts uniforms and house pride clothing, they passed by a bookstore. Landry gasped as she saw the book that was in the window. "Oh my gosh!" she squealed, rushing over to the window. "Advanced History of Magic Volume 27 is out!"

Miles giggled. "You're the only person I know who would get this excited over a textbook," he said.

"This series only releases a book every century, Miles! This one will have all the stuff about Dumbledore, Grindelwald, Harry Potter, and Voldemort!"

"Once a century? And they're already on Volume 27? Wow, that's an old series," Miles said.

"It's the longest running series in Wizarding Britain," Landry said, with wonder in her voice.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go in and get it, Landry," Miles laughed, opening the door to the bookshop for her.

Landry rushed into the store and grabbed a copy of the book from the large stack near the entrance. It was massive, almost half the size of Landry herself. Miles had to help her carry it to the counter. She gave the wizard who owned the bookshop a handful of galleons, and as she prepared to pick up the giant book again, he stopped her.

"Miss, would you like me to have this delivered to your school for you? You're at Hogwarts, correct?" the wizard suggested.

Landry nodded and thanked the man, feeling very relieved as she set the book back down on the counter.

After Landry's book delivery was all settled, the two teenagers finished their detour to the bookstore and went straight to Madame Malkin's Hogsmeade location. They were immediately greeted with a strong floral perfume. Landry and Miles both coughed, then turned to each other and laughed.

"That's a very strong scent," Miles said.

"You think?" said Landry with a giggle. "We'll live…hopefully. Now let's find you some new clothes."

They walked over to the Ravenclaw section, and Landry helped Miles select some new clothes. As they were going through all the articles of clothing, Miles let out a laugh. Landry turned to look at him, and he was holding up an extremely hideous dress. It was an extremely ugly shade of green, with magenta and teal ruffles all over it. Landry burst out laughing at the sight of it.

"Oh my gosh!" she cried. "What were they thinking?"

"I have no idea," said Miles through his giggles.

"Oh my gosh, I have to try it on!" said Landry. "This is too hilarious to pass up."

Landry grabbed the dress and ran to one of the changing rooms, quickly pulling off her clothes and replacing them with the hideous article of clothing. She called out to Miles, "Are you ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready for the big reveal!" he responded.

Landry pulled aside the curtain to the dressing room, expecting Miles to burst out laughing. But instead, his jaw dropped. Landry gave him a confused look, and looked down at the dress. But instead of seeing the hideous dress she had put on, she was now wearing a beautiful rose gold ballgown, with a big, fluffy, floor length skirt. It had off the shoulder sleeves and seemed to glisten whenever she moved. Landry was now just as shocked as Miles. She had no idea where the dress came from. Suddenly, an entertained chuckle broke the silence. An elderly witch, Madame Malkin herself, appeared from behind a wrack of clothes.

"I see you discovered my dream dress," she said. "A bit of magic I made years ago. It turns into the wearer's dream dress whenever they put it on."

"Woah, that's incredible! I'm sorry that we made fun of it," Landry apologized.

"Oh, don't worry, it's meant to look ugly whenever it isn't being worn," Madame Malkin explained. "That way, nobody will be tempted to steal it."

"That's very smart," Landry said, impressed. "It would be perfect for the Masquerade, wouldn't it, Miles?"

But Miles was not listening. He was still standing with his mouth open in awe, staring at Landry. Her face grew red, and yet again, the fluttery feeling returned. Madame Malkin looked particularly entertained. "Cat got your tongue, young man?" she asked in amusement. Miles snapped out of the trance he had been in, and his face turned red to match Landry's.

"Oh, no, I…I just…That dress looks amazing on you, Landry." he said.

"Thank you," Landry said, all of a sudden feeling far happier than she had ever remembered feeling before.

After a silence that lasted a little longer than it should have, Landry looked to Madame Malkin and asked "How much is this dress?"

Madame Malkin smiled. "Oh, you can have it. It's just been sitting around gathering dust for years. Nobody has ever even bothered to pick it up before you."

"Oh my goodness, really?" gasped Landry. "Thank you _so _much!"

"It's my pleasure, dear. Now, a Masquerade ball, you say?" she said, turning to Miles, "Would you like to see the matching suit?"


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Hours later, Landry and Miles left Madame Malkin's with the magical dress and suit, plus a bunch of new clothes for Miles. Madame Malkin had also taken measurements of their faces so that she could owl them some custom masks for the ball. The two teenagers spent the rest of the evening together, talking and laughing. As they were about to part ways for the night to ascend the stairs to their respective dormitories, Miles, all of a sudden, embraced Landry. She was caught off guard by Miles's hug, and the fluttery feeling that came with it. In fact, the fluttery feeling hadn't really left Landry since she had felt it in Madame Malkin's. She was becoming increasingly confused by it. Was she sick? Landry didn't think so, as the feeling wasn't altogether bad. In fact, if Landry was being honest, it felt kind of wonderful. And familiar…but at the same time, completely new. Landry shook this train of thoughts out of her head as Miles released her moments later.

"Sorry," he said, blushing. "I just wanted to thank you, Landry. I know we've only been friends for a few days, but I've never really had a real friend at all before now. You've been there for me whenever I needed you, and that means a lot to me."

Now it was Landry's turn to blush. "Thank you, Miles. And don't mention it! What are best friends for?" she replied.

Miles grinned, at Landry, and Landry grinned back. With that, the two ascended the stairs and went to sleep.

—

Two weeks later, the school was buzzing with anticipation over the Masquerade ball coming up on the next Saturday. Suddenly, Landry was faced with a new dilemma…everyone was talking about who they were going to ask to the ball. Landry had no idea who she would even want to ask to the ball…obviously Scorpius was taken, and at this point she wasn't really sure she liked him in that way anymore. Plus, she still hadn't spoken to him or Albus since Quidditch tryouts. She decided she would just go without a date unless an opportunity presented itself, which Landry thought was quite unlikely.

It was Friday morning, and Landry and Miles walked into the Great Hall for breakfast. Miles had just spent the entire walk down from Ravenclaw tower making Landry smell his new cologne that had arrived by owl post the past evening. He was very excited about it. As they entered the hall, Landry heard a familiar voice call out to her. "Landry! Over here!"

Both Landry and Miles looked over and saw Genevieve sitting at one of the tables, smiling and waving. "Do you mind?" Landry questioned Miles.

"No, not at all," he said, smiling. "I've been wanting to meet Genevieve, you've told me so much about her!"

The two walked over to Genevieve, who immediately stood up and wrapped Landry in a hug. "Hi, I've missed you," she said. "I realized I've kind of been blowing you off these past few weeks to spend time with my new team. I'm really sorry about that, Landry. I just really want them to like me, but I realized that that isn't as important as being a good friend to you" Genevieve explained.

"Awww, Gen, it's okay! I understand. That means the world to me, though. I love you so much, you're the best," Landry said, smiling.

Miles stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to say, not wanting to disrupt the girls' moment.

"Oh, Gen, this is my new friend…"

"Miles," said Miles. "It's nice to meet you, Landry has told me all about you!"

"It's nice to meet you too, Miles," said Genevieve happily. "You look kind of familiar…"

Miles tensed up. He was sure that Genevieve was about to mention his birthname.

"I know! You look like the guy from the Fever Fudge ad in Diagon Alley!" exclaimed Genevieve.

Miles let out a breath of relief, then laughed at what Genevieve had said. "I do?" he laughed.

"You have a similar nose," she said, giggling.

Landry smiled. She was very glad her two best friends were getting along. The three teenagers sat down and started eating their breakfast. Miles and Landry sat across from Genevieve, and after a few minutes of being with them, Genevieve developed an odd look on her face. It was a sort of entertained/suspicious combo. When Landry questioned her, she just smirked and said "Oh, nothing."

After breakfast, Miles headed off in a different direction from the girls, as his class was on the other side of the castle from their classes. Once Miles was out of earshot, Genevieve turned to Landry and said "Wow, you've found a new boy already?"

Landry was confused, and not sure if she had heard Genevieve correctly. "What?" she questioned.

Genevieve just raised her eyebrows and giggled. "Nothing," she said.

Later that day, in Potions class, Genevieve was watching Landry very closely as she added ingredients to their Amortentia potion. It seemed that the closer the two got to finishing the potion, the more closely Genevieve was watching Landry. Landry ignored her friend's odd behavior and continued brewing the potion. Professor Ableman, their Potions teacher, addressed the class as all of the students were completing their potions. "After you're done, make sure to take a whiff of your potion. Amortentia is the most powerful love potion in the world. If you have brewed it correctly, it will smell like what attracts you the most," he explained. Genevieve squealed, and Landry looked over at her with extreme confusion.

"What on earth are you so excited about today, Gen?" she asked quizzically.

"You'll see, Landry. You'll see," Genevieve replied. Landry rolled her eyes as she added the last ingredient to the potion. It began to steam, and Landry gave a satisfied smile, as this was the signal that the potion had been made properly.

"Do you want to smell it first, Gen?" Landry asked. Genevieve shook her head.

"No, no, you go first!" she said. The girl was practically jumping up and down in her seat. Landry bent down to her cauldron and inhaled deeply. "What do you smell?" asked Genevieve.

"I smell…fresh parchment…the allspice candle my dads always burn at home…cinnamon toast…floral perfume…." Landry trailed off. She was confused. She had never really liked cinnamon, and couldn't remember anyone she knew ever having used floral perfume. But as she sniffed once more, the answer came to her. Cologne. _Miles's _cologne_. Miles's _cinnamon toast. The floral perfume that she has smelled with _Miles_ in Madame Malkin's. Her eyes grew wide. She drew her head up from the potion, and turned to Genevieve with a look of realization on her face.

"I knew it!" Genevieve exclaimed.

Genevieve's odd behavior suddenly made sense. She had been able to tell that morning at breakfast, even though Landry herself hadn't even realized. Landry also suddenly knew where she had felt the fluttery feeling before. She had felt it every time she was with Scorpius, until recently. But it had never been quite the same. With Scorpius, it had felt like a dream. It had been lovely, but also seemed foggy, and, for lack of a better word, small. Landry suddenly found herself feeling terrified. This time, it seemed crystal clear. This time, it seemed completely and utterly real.

—

Just a few hours before, in the very same room, Miles had been brewing Amortentia himself. Unlike Landry, he knew exactly what he was going to smell. As he closed his eyes and caught a heavy whiff of his potion, Miles's suspicions were confirmed. He smelled the scent of his testosterone potion, freshly mowed grass, baked beans, floral perfume, and freshly baked cookies. _Landry _loved baked beans. _Landry_ had been with him in Madame Malkin's when they smelled the floral perfume. _Landry_ always smelled of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Miles sighed and set his chin in the palm of his hand. He wondered what Landry smelled in her Amortentia. Little did Miles or Landry know, it was each other.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Landry lay awake in her bed that night, staring at the ceiling. She liked Miles. There was no trying to deny it. She had smelled for herself the solid magical evidence of it. It was a fact. Landry did not know how to feel. She was feeling rather sheepish about the fact that she hadn't realized it before today, as her heart had certainly given her plenty of opportunities to figure it out. It seemed so entirely obvious now, so entirely dominating over everything else in Landry's mind. But, above all, Landry felt worried. She had just gotten over Scorpius, was it really right to like someone else so quickly after that? "But," she thought to herself, "I'm not even sure anymore if I ever liked him how I should have." And it was true. Landry had never really taken the time to get to know Scorpius. She had never cared. In the year she had been his friend, Landry had never taken notice of anything about him besides the fact that she liked him. Sure, she noticed his eyes, hair, and smile, and she did with Miles, too. But with Miles, Landry knew that his favorite color was blue and that his favorite food was cinnamon toast. She knew that Miles was allergic to peanuts and that his middle name was Connor. Whenever he ate ice cream, he liked to use one of the tiny spoons used for free samples because it made it easier to avoid getting brain freeze. Miles was Landry's best friend. And it seemed that she had accidentally fallen in love with him. Scorpius had been a strange, surface deep obsession. Those feelings had still been completely valid, of course, but to Landry they seemed completely like nothing in comparison to what she felt for Miles.

The next day was Halloween, the day of the Masquerade ball. Landry, Miles, and Genevieve had already decided at breakfast the previous day that they would all three go together, as a friend group. Landry found herself to be quite excited, especially since she was going to get to wear her magical dress from Madame Malkin's. Landry had woken up late, for once, to the sound of Genevieve bursting into her dorm room, carrying a large bag of beauty supplies and a peach colored gown. "Wake up, sleepyhead!" Genevieve cried.

"What in the world? Gen, how did you get in here?" Landry questioned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"All you have to do is answer a riddle and the knocker lets you in," Genevieve replied, setting all her things down on the end of Landry's bed. They were the only two in the room, luckily for Landry, as her friend bursting in would not have been popular among her roommates. "Now, let's get you ready for your big day!"

"_My _big day? What do you mean _my _big day?" asked Landry.

"Isn't it obvious? You and Miles! Tonight at the ball! It's bound to happen, what with you both in fancy clothes, under the moonlight in the greenhouse, with all the decorations up…" Genevieve sighed contentedly.

Landry rolled her eyes. "Oh my gosh, Genevieve, not this again! I literally just realized that I liked him yesterday. Give me time!"

"Landry, he likes you too, you know," Genevieve said.

Landry perked up a bit. "What? Did he tell you something?" she asked.

"Well, no, but I could tell! Yesterday at breakfast! It was obvious, he kept sneaking glances at you when you weren't looking!" Genevieve defended.

"That was probably because I had maple syrup on my nose," Landry said, disappointedly.

"Doubt me all you want, but I was right about you, wasn't I?" Genevieve replied.

Landry had no response for this. Genevieve had been able to tell that Landry liked Miles before she herself knew. "What time is it? Landry asked.

"Almost three o'clock," Genevieve replied. Landry sat straight up in her bed.

"Oh my gosh, I never sleep this late! The ball starts at six-thirty, I'd better start getting ready right away!" Landry exclaimed.

So the girls set to work, doing makeup and hair charms on each other to make sure they both looked just how they wanted. Genevieve put on her dress first. Floor length and flowy, Genevieve's peachy pink dress complemented her dark skin perfectly. With a sparkly tiara set on top of her dark auburn afro, Genevieve looked like a princess. Her mask was silver and glittery, and she held it up to her face, seeking Landry's approval. "You look incredible, Gen!" Landry exclaimed, adding one last glitter charm to her own face. "Now I'd better get dressed!"

Landry walked over to her wardrobe and pulled out her dress. Genevieve gave a confused expression, for the dress was in its anti-theft form, and looked rather terrible. "_That's_ your dress?" questioned Genevieve in the kindest tone she could manage.

Landry laughed. "Just wait until you see it on…"

Landry disappeared into the bathroom, and a minute later, she emerged, the dress once again in its stunning rose gold state. Landry smiled as Genevieve's jaw dropped. "Wha…how?" Genevieve cried in confusion.

"A magician never reveals her secrets," giggled Landry.

"Landry, we're literally both witches. Why are you like this?" laughed Genevieve.

"I stopped asking myself that a long time ago. I've accepted it. You should, too." replied Landry.

The top half of Landry's brown hair had been styled into an artistically messy braid, while the rest was waved and fell down her back. The braid was tied with a shimmery ribbon that matched the dress. Her cheeks were highlighted with rosy glitter that seemed to shimmer along with the dress. Landry pulled the mask that Madame Malkin had made for her from the drawer of her bedside table. It was rose gold as well, and seemed to be made out of stars, all glistening as brightly as the girl who wore it. Genevieve laughed in a happy shock. "And you have doubts that Miles likes you…" Genevieve shook her head, exasperatedly.

Soon enough it was time for the ball. Miles, Landry, and Genevieve had arranged to meet right outside the Ravenclaw common room to walk down to the greenhouses together, and sure enough, when Landry and Genevieve exited the common room, there was Miles. He was wearing Madame Malkin's magical dream suit. For him it was dark, midnight blue, and seemed to have been woven through with shimmery thread that was a little bit too similar to the color of Landry's dress to have been coincidental. His mask matched Landry's own. Landry felt as though all the breath had been knocked out of her. Miles was holding two daffodils in his hand, and as the girls approached, he held one out to each of them. Landry felt a flash of red-hot jealousy sear through her at the fact that Miles had gotten a flower for Genevieve, too. When Miles wasn't looking, Genevieve whispered in Landry's ear. "Don't worry, mate, he only got me one to be nice. He hasn't taken his eyes off of you for a second."

Genevieve was right. Miles was also feeling breathless at the sight of Landry. He didn't think he had ever in his life seen anything so beautiful. But he had something else to think about that night, as well. "I've decided that I'm going to come out tonight," Miles announced. Landry gasped.

"Oh my goodness, really? Wow, good luck! I'm sure it will go wonderfully!" she said, wrapping him in a hug that lasted much longer than it should have.

Genevieve was confused. "Oh, are you LGBT+ too?" asked Genevieve. "I'm ace and aro."

"Yeah," replied Miles. "I'm trans. I've already started my transition, obviously, but I haven't yet come out to the school officially. But tonight I'm going to. At 8 o'clock, sharp."

"Oh wow! That's so cool, happy coming-out-o-ween!" Genevieve said.

Miles and Landry both laughed at Genevieve's terrible pun.

"Thanks," said Miles. "I've just decided that I'm ready to do this. Also, I'm quite sick of my teachers addressing me as just "Chester!" It makes it feel like they're always mad at me."

The three teenagers made their way down to the greenhouses. All of the students around them were dressed up as well, but Landry was still turning heads. Nothing could quite compare to her glorious magical ballgown. As they entered the first greenhouse, their jaws dropped in awe. The room was decorated with jack o'lanterns that had been charmed to float overhead. Moonlight shone into the greenhouse through the windowed walls and ceiling, and colored light twirled around them. There were long tables filled with themed treats, and it seemed that even the Hogwarts ghosts had been invited, as they were all floating around making small talk with the students. And as for the students, they all wore masks of varying colors and styles. The teachers were all there too, and were dressed accordingly. It was truly magical, but in a different way than what they produced with their wands.

"This is incredible," said Landry, astonished.

"Truly," Miles continued.

"Well, what are we standing around for? Let's party!" cried Genevieve, grabbing her friends by their wrists and dragging them onto the dance floor.

"No way," Landry gasped as the musical performer came into view. "That's Celestina Warbeck!"

"She's still alive?" gasped Miles. "My grandmother listened to her when she was our age!"

"She must be, like, a hundred and fifty!" observed Genevieve.

"But she still has the voice of an angel," Landry said.

The three friends danced around happily for a while, twirling around and singing along to Celestina's music. They were having a grand old time when suddenly, Landry bumped into someone. She turned around to apologize and was faced with none other than Albus and Scorpius. Landry stopped in her tracks. She had no idea what to say. The truth is, she had missed Albus and Scorpius a lot over the past couple of weeks. Whatever she said next would determine whether or not she lost them forever.

"We need to talk," said Landry.

"Agreed," said Albus and Scorpius simultaneously.

Landry turned to Genevieve and Miles. "Do you guys mind?" she asked.

"Not at all, Landry," said Miles comfortingly.

"We'll be here when you get back," said Genevieve.

Landry, Albus, and Scorpius left the greenhouse, and, without words, all three of them knew where to go. Once they arrived at the Room of Requirement, they sat down on those old, familiar beanbag chairs. Landry took a deep breath.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"I'm sorry," was the first thing Landry could think to say.

"No, I'm sorry, Landry," replied Albus immediately. "I shouldn't have tried to interfere. I was just jealous. Really, really jealous."

"It's okay, Albus. I understand. You two are perfect for each other. I don't know how I didn't see that before." Landry said, smiling.

Then she turned to Scorpius. "And Scorpius, I'm so sorry for treating you how I did. Albus was right, you aren't some product I can just sign off on. You're a person, and though you are a pretty great one, I should never have expected so much from you."

"Landry, there's no need to apologize for how you felt. I'm in the wrong here, too. I led you on because I was too afraid to come to terms with my real feelings. I used you, and that was so, so wrong of me."

"I just want us all to be friends again," said Albus, hopefully.

"I want that, too," said Landry, grinning.

Scorpius cheered. "Hooray! The dream team is back together!" he cried.

Albus and Landry laughed.

"So, you two are together now, right?" Landry asked, gesturing to their hands that were laced together.

Albus blushed and nodded, and Scorpius kissed him on the cheek.

"So, how about you and that guy you were with just now?" asked Scorpius. "In the blue suit?"

Landry's face turned bright red.

Albus laughed. "You never were good at hiding your feelings, Landry," he teased.

"I may or may not like him," Landry said. "But you know me. It took me over a year to muster up the courage to ask you out, Scorpius, and, no offense, what I feel for him is just a lot…scarier. How do you expect me to tell him?"

"No offense taken, I completely understand. What I felt for Rose Granger-Weasley was nice, but it was superficial. In comparison to what I feel for Albus, it seems so small." said Scorpius thoughtfully. "I think you should tell him, Landry. If there's anything I learned from our whole experience, it's that, if you like someone, you shouldn't waste any time pretending you don't."

Landry found this to be some exceptionally solid advice. But all of a sudden, she remembered something. "Oh my gosh, what time is it?" she cried.

Albus glanced at the clock that had just appeared on the wall in response to Landry's remark. "Five 'til eight, why?"

"Oh my gosh, I have to go back to the ball right away! I can't miss Miles's announcement!" Landry said, jumping up from her beanbag chair.

She, Albus, and Scorpius ran through the halls, out of the castle, and into the greenhouses. They made it just in time, for Miles was standing on the small stage where Celestina Warbeck had been performing. He was scanning the room, clearly looking for someone, and when he spotted Landry, his expression grew significantly less worried. He held his wand to his throat and whispered a voice amplifying charm. "Sonorus," he said, and then continued, "Hi. Hi! May I, um, please have everyone's attention? Please?"

All heads turned towards Miles. He took a deep, shaky breath. He was nervous, but also very ready. "So, some of you may know me as…Destiny Chester," he started, grimacing as he said his birth name. "But I just wanted to let you know that I'm trans. My name is actually Miles, and I'm a boy. So yeah…thanks everyone. Go back to whatever you were doing."

There was a moment of silence, but then cheers and clapping erupted from around the greenhouse. Nobody was cheering more loudly than Landry. Her heart swelled with pride and love. She loved him. Landry loved Miles, and she wasn't going to sit around doing nothing about it anymore.

Landry pushed her way through the crowd, towards the stage. Miles was descending the steps as he saw her coming towards him with a look of determination on her face. She threw her arms around him. "Miles, that was amazing. You're amazing," she said.

Miles blushed. "Thank you, Landry. You're pretty amazing, yourself."

"Hopefully, this will be amazing too," she said.

Before Miles could question what she had meant, before he could think of anything else, Landry kissed him. And neither of them could think of anything that had ever been so wonderful before in their whole entire lives.

Genevieve squealed as she watched what was happening. Scorpius and Albus walked up beside her. Scorpius took a sip of pumpkin juice and, wordlessly, high-fived Albus. His advice in the Room of Requirement had clearly been adequate.

When Miles and Landry finally pulled apart, all Miles could do was reply to what she had said right before the kiss. "It was," he said.

"So, um…what now?" Landry asked with a giggle.

"I'm in love with you, Landry Beckett," said Miles.

"Thank goodness, because I'm in love with you too," said Landry, with an elated breath of relief.

"So are we…_together _now?" asked Miles hopefully.

"If you want to be. I do." Landry replied, blushing.

"I do, too. So…would you maybe…possibly…please be my girlfriend, Landry?"

Landry grinned. She couldn't remember ever having been so happy before. "That depends," she said. "I'll be your girlfriend if you'll be my boyfriend."

"I think that can be arranged," laughed Miles, pulling her in for another kiss.

—

At five in the morning the next day, Landry, Miles, Albus, Scorpius, and Genevieve found themselves together in the Room of Requirement. They had changed out of their fancy clothes and had spent all night after the ball just catching up. Landry finally felt like all was right in her world. She had made up with her friends, and she was in love with her newly-appointed boyfriend, Miles. Landry had never been more content. She decided a celebration was in order.

"Guys, wait, I want to show you something," Landry said, rising from her beanbag chair.

"What is it, Love?" questioned Miles.

"It's my favorite place in all of Hogwarts. I go there whenever I'm feeling stressed or upset, and even just for fun sometimes. I've never shown anyone this place before, but you are all my best friends and I want to share it with you," Landry explained.

"Awwww, Landry! That's so sweet," Scorpius said with a smile.

"Well, what are we waiting for, then? Everyone follow Landry!" cried Genevieve.

The five friends trekked through and out of the castle, with Landry leading the way. She took them down a hill, towards the Forbidden Forest. The group twisted and turned through the trees until they came to a clearing. Genevieve gave a confused expression. It was just an empty clearing, but her four friends seemed to be in awe over it. "What's happening?" she asked them.

"Thestrals!" cried Miles, walking across the clearing and holding his hand out gently to a creature that Genevieve could not see.

"Yes," said Landry. "You can see them, too, then?" she asked Miles.

He nodded solemnly as he stroked the nose of one of the large winged beasts. "I was in a car crash when I was a toddler. I was fine, but my uncle didn't make it," he explained.

"I'm sorry," said Scorpius.

"Thanks," replied Miles, with a smile. "Can you all see them?"

"Everyone except me," said Genevieve.

"You should consider that a good thing, Gen," Albus said.

The friends hung out with the thestrals under the first light of dawn. Genevieve even got to pet one, though she still could not see it. Landry was playing chase with a baby thestral when she tripped over something.

"Are you okay?" cried Miles, rushing to help his girlfriend back up.

"Yeah, I'm completely fine," said Landry. "But what's that?"

She pointed to what she had just tripped over. It was a small, black, shimmery stone, glistening out from between the fallen leaves. Landry picked it up, curious about its odd appearance.

"Woah, what is that?" Miles exclaimed. The other three crowded around Landry to see what Miles was referring to.

"It's some sort of stone," Landry observed.

"Well, obviously it's a stone, Landry," Albus laughed. "I think Miles was referring to the fact that it is clearly not a normal stone."

It definitely wasn't a normal stone, that was for certain. It glistened eerily in the early morning light. Landry turned to her friends. "We should take it back to the castle. Maybe it has some magical properties! We can research it in the library later."

Everyone seemed to agree on this plan, so Landry pocketed the stone, and the five headed back to the castle.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Two weeks later, Miles and Landry were cuddled up together by the fireplace in the Ravenclaw common room. Miles was working on an essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts class, while Landry was chipping away at 'Advanced History of Magic; Volume 27.'

She was turning the pages of the book with one hand, and holding the odd black stone that her friends and herself had found in the forest in her other hand. Landry often did this ever since it had been found, for she was very intrigued by it, and she wanted to make sure it was nearby in case she was to find something about it in her book. Today she had reached a chapter all about the first Wizarding war, and about the defeat of Grindelwald by Albus Dumbledore.

"Babe, listen to this! Did you know that Dumbledore and Grindelwald used to _date_ when they were teenagers?" Landry exclaimed.

Miles raised an eyebrow. "No, I didn't. Wow, that must've been a messy breakup."

Landry giggled, flipping the page of her book. There was a large photograph of Dumbledore and Grindelwald together, with Grindelwald's arm slung around Dumbledore's shoulder. Below it, it was labeled "Gellert Grindelwald 1882-1998 (left) with Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, 1881-1997 (right) in Godric's Hollow, in Summer of 1899."

Dumbledore, who had been 17 when the photo had been taken, had long, auburn hair, round glasses instead of the half-moon shaped ones he had worn later in life, and had not yet begun to grow his trademark beard. Grindelwald's hair was dirty blonde, and his laughing face in the photograph showed no signs of what he would become. Landry imagined what it must've been like for Dumbledore to defeat someone who he had been in love with. Landry shuddered at the thought of it. She felt as though she would rather be crucio'd a hundred times than have to hurt Miles. "Hey, please don't ever turn evil. I don't want to have to defeat you, ever," Landry said to Miles.

"I don't plan on it," he replied, kissing her on the tip of her nose. She smiled.

Landry turned back to her book and continued watching the Dumbledore and Grindelwald in the photo smile and laugh. She fiddled with the odd stone with her free hand. She turned it over in her palm once, twice, three times…suddenly the stone began to glow. "Miles, look!" cried Landry, holding out the stone to him.

"What's happening to it?" he asked worriedly.

In the far corner of the room, two glowing shapes began to form… growing from to small spheres at first, larger and larger, until they were the size of a person. In fact, it almost looked like they _were_ people. Landry gasped as the two shapes became fully formed. There, in front of them, were two teenage boys. One blonde, one redheaded.

Landry screamed. Standing before them were none other than Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald.

"It cannot be…" said Grindelwald, staring at his own hands with a sinister gleam in his eyes. He took a deep breath in, sniffing the air. "The mortal realm. I have returned…" He looked around, and was shocked to see Dumbledore standing beside him.

"Albus," he said darkly.

"Hello, Gellert," said Dumbledore, calmly. "You look well."

"Stop your flirting, old man. We may be in our young bodies, but much has changed since then."

"Indeed it has," agreed Dumbledore. "But one thing has not. I defeated you once, and I can do it again."

Grindelwald cackled. "Not if you cannot find me," he said. He then turned to Landry and Miles with a terrifying grin. "Thank you, children, for my life and youth back. It is quite a shame I'll soon be destroying you both."

With that, Grindelwald disapparated. Dumbledore immediately turned to Landry and Miles.

"How did you do this?" he asked them.

"I-I'm not quite sure, Mr. Dumbledore, sir. I was just looking at your photograph in my history book, and…" Landry gasped. _"The stone!"_

She held out the small black stone that was still clutched in her hand. Dumbledore's eyes widened.

"The resurrection stone," he said. "How did you come about this?"

"We found it in the woods," Landry responded. "Wait…you mean to tell me that _this _stone right here is _the_ resurrection stone? One of the Deathly Hallows?"

Dumbledore nodded grimly. "The woods, you say…oh, that boy!"

"What boy?" asked Miles.

"Are you two familiar with Harry Potter?" asked Dumbledore.

But before he could respond, the door to the common room swung open, and Professor McGonagall entered with a grim expression on her face.

"Miss Beckett, Mr. Chester, I have just received the results from the Morse code spell. I'm afraid this is far worse than any of us could have…" she trailed off as her eyes fell upon Dumbledore.

"Hello, Minerva," he said.

"What kind of trick is this? Who did this? It is not funny," said McGonagall shakily.

"I'm afraid there has been no trick, Minerva. It is me. It seems that Harry lost track of the resurrection stone. These students found it in the forest, and accidentally brought me back," he explained.

"Is this true?" McGonagall asked the teenagers, in shock.

Landry nodded, holding up the stone.

"Bless my soul…Albus, you're back!" McGonagall, in a rare loss of composure, ran to Dumbledore and flung her arms around him.

"I am extremely pleased to see you as well, Minerva, but I'm afraid we have a situation on our hands," Dumbledore said.

McGonagall released him, and wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes. "You're absolutely right, Albus. As I was saying, I got the results from the Morse code test. After reading through them, I have come to the horrifying conclusion that…well, see for yourself…"

McGonagall handed Landry the parchment she had been holding.

_Not long now, soon he will return_

_Acknowledged. Dark Lord will rise again_

_Soon as we take the girl's cloak and get wand, no stopping us_

_He will will bring Lord Voldemort back._

Landry's head spun as she continued reading more translations, every word making her feel more sick. There was truly only one thing this could mean, of course. "This means…" Landry trailed off.

"I'm afraid so, Miss Beckett," McGonagall said. "There are Death Eaters within Hogwarts, and they've seemingly found a way to bring back Voldemort."

"I'm afraid that isn't all, Minerva," said Dumbledore apologetically. "Unfortunately, I was not the only wizard that was brought back to life this evening. Gellert Grindelwald disapperated just before you arrived. It seems he is still on about enslaving all Muggles."

McGonagall, who was usually as iron as they come, was now struggling to remain calm. "Very well," she said with a wavering voice. "Children, Albus, it is not safe for you here anymore. You should take refuge in my office until further notice."

McGonagall rushed them out of the room and towards her office. Along the way, she was practically interrogating them. "I think our most likely scenario here would be that the Death Eaters have found out about the resurrection stone being on Hogwarts grounds, and have been waiting until they had what they needed to go looking for it. I'm afraid that you've led it right to them now. Is there anyone else who knows about the stone?"

"Our best friends," Miles replied. "Genevieve Malcolm, Scorpius Malfoy, and Albus Potter."

Dumbledore choked on air. "_Albus_ Potter?"

"Yeah," Landry said. "Harry Potter named his son after you."

Dumbledore's expression could not be read, but Landry was no longer paying attention to him anyways, as suddenly she realized something else. "Wait!" she cried. "The cloak they mentioned in their messages, could they have meant Lily Potter's invisibility cloak?"

McGonagall thought for a moment, and nodded. "Yes, I am almost certain this is what they meant. I fear that the Death Eaters are trying to obtain the Hallows."

"Professor, my little sister has that cloak! She rented it from Lily!" Landry cried in horror.

"I see. I will fetch her as well, then. Albus, I'm leaving them with you. I trust you still know the way to your own office?" McGonagall inquired.

"Of course, Minerva," Dumbledore replied.

McGonagall parted ways from them, hurrying off to rescue the others.

All of a sudden, Landry stopped in her tracks. "Wait! Oh no, oh no!" she gasped.

"What's wrong?" asked Miles, terrified.

"I…I left the stone in the common room."


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Miles, Landry, and Dumbledore sprinted back through the castle, their hearts pounding. Landry was internally scolding herself for forgetting the resurrection stone in the Ravenclaw common room, but she knew that all she could do now was try her hardest to get it back before someone else did. But with Grindelwald and some Death Eaters on the loose, this didn't seem a likely scenario. Sure enough, when the trio finally reached Ravenclaw tower, it was too late. The door swung open, and to their horror, Amycus Carrow was standing in the middle of the common room, holding the stone in hand. He sneered wickedly upon seeing them. "Well, well, well," he snickered. "What do we have here? Meddling mudbloods and…" Suddenly, Amycus's face paled. "Albus Dumbledore…no, you were killed! And how have you become young again? Unless…" He looked to the stone.

"I'm afraid so, Amycus," Dumbledore said.

"That's right!" said Miles bravely. "We've got THE Albus Dumbledore on our team! You're toast!"

Amycus cackled. "Oh, is that what you think?"

Amycus turned the stone over three times in his hand. It began to glow once more, and a shape started to form in the same spot where Dumbledore and Grindelwald had appeared. As the shape grew clearer, a chilling, sinister cackle filled the air. Two red eyes opened. Voldemort inhaled slowly, breathing once again. "The resurrection stone," he said, looking to Amycus. "You've done well, Amycus. You will be rewarded."

Amycus bowed deeply. "Thank you, my Lord, but there is no greater reward than to be in your presence once more."

"Ah, yes. How right you are," Voldemort replied. He then turned to Landry, Miles and Dumbledore.

"Filthy mudbloods," he spat. "If I had my wand, I would rid this world of you right now. Where is my wand, Amycus?"

"I'm sorry, my Lord, but it was destroyed long ago. However, my sister is at the grave of Albus Dumbledore right now, retrieving the Elder wand for you."

"Fool!" Voldemort cried. "You know that wand will not work for me. I must be too powerful for it."

"Ah, that's where you're wrong," said Dumbledore.

"How dare you!" shouted Voldemort. "Who are you to speak to me that way?"

"Don't you recognize me, Tom?" Dumbledore asked.

Voldemort looked at him, and suddenly, his eyes grew wide.

"Albus Dumbledore…no, it cannot be!"

"But it is, Tom. I am back, just like you." Dumbledore replied.

"No matter," said Voldemort, regaining his composure. "I will deal with you all later! Now, back to business. Amycus, the Elder wand will not do…wait, no…it is coming back to me now, yes…I never truly owned the wand. It was owned by who last _disarmed_ its previous owner, not who killed them. So, to gain its alliance, I must simply disarm its current owner. Who might that be, Amycus?"

"Harry Potter, my Lord," Amycus said.

"Of course. How could I have expected any less? This time, I will defeat him. Once and for all. Now, shall we go retrieve my wand?"

Voldemort grabbed hold of Amycus and they disapparated.

"This is bad. This is very, very bad," said Miles, his bravery leaving him.

"Come, children, we must go tell the Headmistress about this," said Dumbledore.

"Is anyone else wondering how they apparated off of Hogwarts grounds?" Landry asked.

"I guess there's an exception to the 'no apparating' restriction for people who have been resurrected from the dead," replied Miles, as Dumbledore led the two teenagers out of the Ravenclaw common room.

Minutes later, Landry, Miles, and Dumbledore entered McGonagall's office, out of breath from running. Immediately, Landry and Miles were attacked with hugs. "Thank goodness you're okay!" cried Genevieve, throwing her arms around them. "We were so worried!"

Albus, Pippa, and Scorpius were there, too, and the boys quickly joined in on the group hug. Pippa however, stood angrily in the corner with her arms crossed.

"Thanks a lot, Landry! Because of you, McGonagall confiscated my invisibility cloak!" Pippa grumbled. But her anger did not last long, for soon she was in the middle of the hug. Dumbledore stood to the side, awkwardly, until Scorpius noticed him.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I am Albus Dumbledore," he said.

"Y-you're Dumbledore? _The _Dumbledore? As in….DUMBLEDORE?!" Pippa gasped. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"That is correct," Dumbledore stated. "But It seems that I have been brought back to life for the time being."

"That stone we found in the woods was the Resurrection Stone," Landry explained. "And I may have accidentally brought him…and, um, Grindelwald…back to life."

"Hold up! _Grindelwald? Gellert Grindelwald? Evil Grindelwald?" _Genevieve said, in horror.

"The very same," stated Dumbledore, with a slight pain in his eyes that only Landry noticed.

"And Professor McGonagall tells us there are freaking _Death Eaters_ in the castle? Could this get any worse?" Scorpius cried, flopping down in a chair.

"Actually, yes it could," said Miles. "One of said Death Eaters may have…kind of…resurrected Voldemort."

Albus and Scorpius grew pale with fear. They both remembered how terrifying it had been to face Voldemort once before. They did not wish to do it again.

"You're saying that we're now dealing with the two most evil Wizards of all time?" asked Pippa.

"Indeed," Dumbledore responded solemnly.

"Awesome!" cried Pippa. "Now _this _is an adventure!"

Albus, who had been particularly quiet, turned to Dumbledore.

"Hello, sir. It's, um, a pleasure to meet you. I'm….Albus. Albus Potter," he said to Dumbledore.

"Your father is Harry Potter?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes," said Albus.

"I see," said Dumbledore, clearly thinking this discovery over in great detail. "It's very nice to meet you, too, Albus."

"Thank you, sir. Oh, wait, you didn't get any of our names, did you?" Albus asked.

"I did not," replied Dumbledore.

"Okay, so, um, this is my boyfriend, Scorpius Malfoy, then there's Landry Beckett, her boyfriend, Miles Chester, her little sister, Pippa Beckett, and our best friend Genevieve Malcolm."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all, children, though it is truly unfortunate that I am meeting you under such terrible circumstances." Dumbledore replied, acknowledging each of them.

"I can't imagine how you must be feeling," Landry said to him. "I mean, not only did you just literally come back to life, but now you-and all of us-are faced with the task of facing these two monsters. Especially what with you and Grindelwald's, um, _history_."

"Wait, what history?" asked Pippa.

Dumbledore sighed. "When we were very young," he began, "Gellert and I were quite close."

"You two were _friends?_" asked a shocked Scorpius.

Dumbledore's expression grew pained. "Well, yes. But we were also, as you would say…_dating," _he explained.

"WHAT?" gasped Pippa. "No way! You and Grindelwald were _boyfriends?_ But he's, like, super evil! And you're, like, super…not evil!"

"Love is a funny thing. It is a magic surpassing any we can create with our wands." Dumbledore said.

"Dad was right. You are cryptic," Albus said.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Is that what he said about me?"

"Well, he also said that you're one of the bravest men he's ever known," Albus answered.

"Did he, now?" asked Dumbledore thoughtfully. "Alas, I can't say I know what I ever did to deserve that title."

"Well, I'd say it would take a lot of guts to have to defeat someone you were in love with," Scorpius pointed out. "I sure couldn't do it!"

"Me neither," Albus agreed, taking Scorpius's hand in his own. "But I suppose that's why we aren't in Gryffindor."

"It is not what you are that defines what house you are sorted into, but what you value," Dumbledore said.

At that moment, McGonagall burst into the room. She breathed a deep sigh of relief upon seeing Landry, Miles, and Dumbledore. "Oh, thank goodness you're alright! What on earth took you so long? I went out searching for you!"

"I'm afraid things have gotten even worse, Minerva," Dumbledore said grimly.

"How so?" McGonagall asked, with dread in her voice.

"It's all my fault," said Landry, sorrowfully. "I accidentally left the Resurrection Stone in the Ravenclaw common room. We went back to get it as soon as I realized, but it was too late. The Death Eaters got to it first. H-He's back," Landry said, tears beginning to drip down her face. Miles wrapped her in a hug.

"Who's back?" asked McGonagall, hoping with all hope that Landry had not meant what she thought she had.

"Don't make her say it, please, Professor. I think you know who," Scorpius answered.

Pippa snorted. "Ha! 'you know who'…You-Know-Who….get it?"

They all got it, but nobody replied. Pippa realized that it may not have been the best time for that joke.

"So let me get this straight…not only is Grindelwald back, but Voldemort as well?"

"This is true, Minerva," replied Dumbledore.

"What should we do, Albus?" McGonagall asked.

"I don't know," said the two Albuses simultaneously. They looked at each other.

"Do we have any idea what either of their plans are?" McGonagall asked.

"Grindelwald did not specify, but I suspect he's reverted back to his old plans of exposing Wizardkind. Voldemort, however, is currently removing the Elder wand from my grave so he can finally make it his," Dumbledore responded.

"How does he plan on 'making it his?'" questioned Miles.

"To gain control of the Elder wand, one must disarm its owner," McGonagall said.

"Who owns the wand?" Genevieve asked.

"Harry Potter," said McGonagall.

Suddenly, there was a crash from the fireplace, and Harry Potter himself came shooting into the room.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Harry looked up at the many faces staring back at him. "Albus?" he questioned his son. "What on earth is going on here?"

"It's a long story, dad," said Albus. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to Professor McGonagall," he said. "It is rather urgent."

"Let me guess," said Albus. "Your scar is hurting again."

Harry looked at his son with a very confused expression. "How did you know?" he asked.

"I'm afraid we have a situation, Mr. Potter," said McGonagall.

"To say the least," added Miles.

McGonagall explained to Harry the events of the evening as everyone else listened. After she was done, Harry sat in silence for a minute, drinking it all in. "You mean to tell me," he said, finally, "That _Voldemort_ is back, and alive? As well as Grindelwald and….Dumbledore? And there have been Death Eaters within the walls of Hogwarts all year?"

"I'm afraid so, Harry," said Dumbledore. Harry turned to him.

"Professor Dumbledore…is it really you?" he asked. "Are you really back?"

"I am, Harry," Dumbledore said.

"You've met my son Albus, then?" he asked, looking from Dumbledore to Albus and back again.

"I have. I do see myself in him, Harry, and not just because of the name," replied Dumbledore.

"Is it because you're both gay?" asked Pippa.

Scorpius snorted, trying not to laugh at Pippa's remark.

"I was more referring to the fact that we both have a thing for blondes, but I suppose that would be another similarity, yes," Dumbledore joked to Pippa, shooting her a wink.

Harry turned to Albus, and it was then that he noticed that his son was holding hands with Scorpius. "Are you two…?" Harry trailed off.

"Yes dad, Scorpius and I are dating," Albus said.

Harry sighed. At first Albus was worried it was because he did not approve of Scorpius, but then Harry dug a handful of galleons from his pocket and handed them to McGonagall. "You've bested me again, Professor. I truly thought they were oblivious enough to make it past Christmas without realizing," he said.

Albus gasped. "You placed a _bet_ on my love life? With…with the _Headmistress?_"

This time, Scorpius failed to refrain from laughing. It was then that Landry felt the need to pipe up. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I think we're all ignoring the major situation here. You know, the multiple dark wizards being resurrected?"

"You're absolutely right, Miss Beckett," McGonagall said. "We must figure out how to proceed from here."

Suddenly, another person came flying out of the fireplace. "I came as quickly as I could," said Hermione Granger, brushing some floo powder off of her robes. "Harry owled me and said to meet him here immediately. What's going on?"

Once Hermione had been caught up, the adults began formulating a plan. The children listened.

"Will we have to evacuate the school?" Harry asked.

"I really don't see another option. It is not safe here, for all we know the place is still crawling with Death Eaters," McGonagall replied.

Pippa cleared her throat. "So you're saying if we got rid of the Death Eaters, the school could stay open?" she asked.

"I suppose so," McGonagall said. "But there is no way to do that quickly enough."

"Actually, there is," said Pippa, pulling out her wand. "Accio Death Eaters, vacinitius Hogwarts," she cried, waving her wand. Almost instantly, six black-clad people came zooming through the door. Before any of them had the chance to react, Pippa said "Petrificus totalus," and at once, all six of the remaining Death Eaters fell to the floor like stiff boards of wood. "There. Now we just get these guys a one way ticket to Azkaban and we're good to go. You're welcome."

Everyone else in the room stood silently, eyes wide and jaws dropped. Hermione was the first to speak. "I quite like her," she said.

"Thank you very much, Minister. I'm Pippa AnnLynn Beckett, pleased to meet you. I'll be taking over your position sooner or later," Pippa said.

Hermione laughed. "I have no doubt that you will," she said.

"What do you suggest we do now?" asked Harry.

"Well, now that we have captured the Death Eaters, I see no reason to close the school It may very well be the safest place for all of the students to be when the inevitable occurs," said McGonagall.

"I quite agree, Minerva," Dumbledore said.

"Harry, you, James, and Ginny should go into hiding. I'll send Ron with you as well. I'll have to remain at the ministry, of course," Hermione instructed. "Then we lock down the school, and put up every defensive mechanism that the school has got. I don't doubt that Voldemort and/or Grindelwald will be here soon enough. I'll send out all of our Aurors to hunt for them, as well."

"Hermione, James and I are your best Aurors. And I highly doubt you'll be able to convince Ron or Ginny to go into hiding. I know one of these enemies better than anyone, I daresay," retorted Harry. Hermione sighed.

"Alright, fine," said Hermione. "But only because I don't think the other Aurors would know what to do without you or James."

"Excellent," said Harry.

"I believe all our affairs are in order, then," said McGonagall.

"Not quite, I'm afraid," said Dumbledore. "There is still the slight problem of my existence."

"That's true," said Harry, stroking his beard.

It was then that Landry finally piped up. "Excuse me? I just had a thought…since you do appear to be 17, what if we pretended you were a student here? You know, you're the right age to be a seventh year, and you could stay in the Gryffindor dorms since you were a Gryffindor, and nobody would even know who you were! It's the perfect hiding place, right in plain sight," she suggested.

"I do believe that is an excellent idea, Landry," said Dumbledore.

"Very well, then. I will alert the seventh year Gryffindor boys of the situation," said McGonagall.

"Good," said Hermione. "Harry, you go alert the Aurors of their new mission. I'll take these punks to Azkaban. Headmistress, could you and the other teachers get to work on securing the school?"

"Of course," McGonagall replied. Then she turned to the children. "Now, I want to make this clear to you: you are _not_, under _any circumstances,_ to go looking for Voldemort or Grindelwald. You are to focus on your studies as usual unless explicitly instructed to do otherwise. Have I made myself clear?

"Yes, Professor," chorused the children.

"Very good. You can, however, help us. Or rather, help Professor Dumbledore. Dare I say, Albus, it has been quite a while since you've been a teenager. A lot has changed, and I do not want to risk you blowing your cover by not being up to date on what the students are doing nowadays," McGonagall said.

"Right you are, Minerva. I am going to need all the help I can get if I am to act the age I look," Dumbledore agreed.

"Then it's settled," said McGonagall. "Now, let's get to work."


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The Aurors were dispatched and a giant force field was placed around Hogwarts. It would not keep Voldemort or Grindelwald out of Hogwarts long term, but it would at least provide the school with a warning signal if either of them did arrive. Landry and her friends were left in a state of shock. The group had finally been starting to find their new normal, but now everything had been turned upside down. The Wizarding and Muggle worlds were once again in grave danger from the two greatest foes they had ever faced before.

The group of teenagers tried their hardest to do just as Professor McGonagall had said and try to go about business as usual, but all of them found this to be extremely difficult. Having Dumbledore around as a constant reminder of the situation did not help. And Dumbledore himself was not having the easiest time fitting in. For starters, there was the awkward situation of the fact that there were now two Albuses in the group. Not to mention that the teenagers did not really feel as though they should be addressing _the_ Albus Dumbledore by his first name. Then there was the slight issue that Dumbledore still had the brain and memories of his old self. Try as he might, even the great Albus Dumbledore himself could not for the life of him figure out the purpose of a fidget spinner. Plus, his tendency to speak in riddles was not what one would consider to be normal teen boy behavior. Still, this was apparently not entirely off putting to some of the other Hogwarts students.

One day, as Landry and Miles were walking with Dumbledore to class, a seventh year Hufflepuff boy approached them. "Hey," he said to Dumbledore, cutting him off as he was about to turn a corridor. "I haven't seen you around school before. What's your name?"

"Alb-" Dumbledore began to say, when Miles cut him off.

"Albert," Miles said quickly. "His name is Albert, he's been homeschooled until now."

Dumbledore, quickly catching on, nodded in agreement.

"Nice to meet you, Albert," said the boy. "I'm Roger. Roger Colins. And, just to let you know, I'm _completely_ available. For anything you may need." Roger winked and strutted off.

Miles and Landry looked at each other in shock, then burst out laughing. "If only he knew," cried Landry. "If only he knew that he just flirted with _Albus Dumbledore!_"

Dumbledore did not react. He was contemplating something. Finally, he spoke. "Would it be…_improper_ of me to take him up on that offer?"

Landry wrinkled her face in disgust. "Yes! It would be utterly and completely wrong in every way! You're literally over 100 years older than him!"

Dumbledore shrugged. "My body isn't," he replied.

"Gross!" said Miles, shuddering. "As your Headmistress-appointed mentors, we are putting an official end to that right now."

As the days went by, more and more articles started popping up in The Daily Prophet about Voldemort and Grindelwald picking up right where they left off and terrorizing muggles. Buildings were lit on fire, bridges were destroyed, and trains were derailed. The Death Eaters who were imprisoned in Azkaban had been broken out. There were even reports of dementor attacks from all across Europe. Everyone in the castle was becoming increasingly terrified. As Landry watched it all unfold, she knew that she couldn't just stand by and watch it happen anymore. She knew she had to do something, regardless of what McGonagall said. One day, Landry pulled out her glass stone and called each of her friends, asking them to meet her in the Room of Requirement that evening.

Hours later, Landry, Miles, Genevieve, Albus, Scorpius, and Dumbledore sat in their beanbag chairs in the Room of Requirement. All eyes turned to Landry as she stood from her chair. "I guess you're all wondering why I asked for you all to meet me here," she began.

"Not really," said Scorpius. "I mean, we're best friends, we often hang out in here together. It really isn't very abnor….." Scorpius trailed off, realizing that Landry had not been looking for logic at that moment.

"Right. So," Landry continued. "Obviously you're all aware of the current situation. Well, I've decided that I'm done with standing around doing nothing. I found the stone, I accidentally brought Grindelwald and Dumbledore back, and I left the stone in Ravenclaw tower, which allowed the Death Eaters to get it and resurrect Voldemort. It's partially my fault, there's no denying it. I'm not about to let other people fight this battle without me."

"What are you saying?" asked Genevieve, concerned.

"I'm leaving Hogwarts. I'm going to fight. I'm going to hunt down these dark wizards and try my hardest to help defeat them. Since I'm seventeen, I can do magic away from school, so I won't get in legal trouble for that. I asked you all here today because you are my best friends in the whole world, and I couldn't just leave without saying goodbye." Landry said.

"No way," said Genevieve, rising from her chair.

"Gen, I'm sorry, but there's no talking me out of this. I have to go," Landry protested.

"No, that's not what I meant. I meant that there's no way you're going alone. I'm coming with you!" Genevieve exclaimed.

Miles immediately leapt up. "I'm going, too! If you thought for a single minute that I'm letting the love of my life go off on a wild Death Eater chase without me, you were very, very wrong," he said, lacing his hand together with Landry's.

The three looked to Albus and Scorpius questioningly. They looked at each other, nodded, and stood up. "Count us in," they said in unison.

It was then that they all remembered that Dumbledore was there. They all looked to him, and he looked back at them. "Do excuse me for just a moment. I will be right back," he said. Suddenly, he disapparated. The teenagers gasped.

"Where do you think he went?" asked Genevieve.

Scorpius sighed. "Probably to rat us out to Professor McGonagall," he said, flopping down onto a beanbag chair.

A minute later, Dumbledore suddenly reappeared, but he was not alone. Beside him was none other than the Minister for Magic herself, Hermione Granger.

"Oh, it's worse than we thought!" Albus cried. "He didn't just tell McGonagall, he ratted us out to Aunt Hermione!"

"Don't place blame, so quickly, Albus," Hermione said. "It is true that Professor Dumbledore has told me about your plans, but I am not here to stop you. I'm here to help you."

The teenagers' jaws dropped.

"If you're going to do this, I'm not going to let you do it without proper supplies," said Hermione, removing a small purple bag from her shoulder. She opened it up, and stuck her whole arm inside. The teenagers gasped.

"Undetectable extension charm," she explained. "Now, here are some supplies I've brought for you. First, we have a tent-it's much larger on the inside, don't worry. Then you've got some standard healing supplies, including Essence of Dittany. That will heal almost any wound very quickly. It's particularly good for healing splinches. Next, a spare wand. In case any of yours are lost or broken. Also some food and water of course, and you should all pack clothes in here, as well. The bag is yours, too. I also must ask you to proceed with extreme caution. Death Eaters will _not_ have mercy on you just because you are kids. Trust me on this," she said, subconsciously running her hand along her neck, where Bellatrix Lestrange had left a dark scar in her skin.

"We will, Minister," said Landry, taking the bag full of supplies from Hermione.

"I'll be going, as well," said Dumbledore.

"Well, we're set then!" said Genevieve excitedly. "With _the _Albus Dumbledore on our side, we'll be defeating dark lords left and right!"

"Don't overestimate me, Genevieve," Dumbledore said with a sigh.

There was an awkward silence, but Hermione eventually broke it. "Now, you kids go and grab anything else you might need from your dorms. Clothes, shoes, books."

"Testosterone potions," Miles added on.

"I'll stay here and discuss technicalities with the Minister," Dumbledore said.

The teenagers agreed, and they all ran off towards their dormitories to collect their things. Miles also made a stop at the hospital wing, where Madame Pomphrey provided him with enough doses of his potions to last a year. Landry met up with him on their way back to the Room of Requirement.

"Did you really mean what you said back there?" Landry asked. "About me being the love of your life?"

Miles turned red. "I, um, yes. I did, but I get it if it's too soon, or if that was too much, or-"

Landry cut him off by kissing him. "No, it's not," she said, after they pulled apart. "It's just…I feel exactly the same way about you." Miles grinned.

"I know we're young and people will tell us that what we feel isn't real, but I'm completely in love with you and I don't see that ever changing. I don't know what the future holds but I can't imagine it not having you as a part of it," Landry said.

Miles was tearing up. He wiped his eyes and sniffed, and then wrapped Landry in the tightest hug he had ever given. "I'm not going anywhere," he said.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

An hour later, Landry, Miles, Genevieve, Scorpius, Albus, and Dumbledore stood together in the Room Of Requirement. Their bag had been packed with all the things they thought they could possibly need. They were all dressed in comfortable muggle clothes now, even Dumbledore had borrowed an outfit from Scorpius.

"These jeans are rather tight," said Dumbledore, looking down disdainfully at his legs.

"They're skinny jeans," Scorpius explained. "They're all I've got, unless you want to wear my overalls?"

Dumbledore shook his head quickly. "No thank you, Scorpius. The skinny jeans will be fine."

"Alright, are we ready to go?" Landry asked, tying off her second french braid.

"I think so," said Miles, looking around. "Do you have the bag, Love?"

Landry nodded and held up the special bag that Hermione had given them. "Everything is packed, I've triple checked," she assured him.

"Fantastic. Is everyone ready to go?"

There was a murmur of agreement from around the room.

"We're ready. But how exactly are we going to go? None of us can apparate on school grounds except Dumbledore, since none of the rest of us have been magically resurrected, thus causing that school rule not to apply. There are too many of us for him to side-along, the risk of splinching would be too great," Albus pointed out.

"So why don't we just walk off of Hogwarts grounds and then apparate?" Genevieve asked.

"Oh. Wow. Um, yeah. That's what we'll do, then," said Landry, feeling a bit foolish for not realizing this easy solution.

The group was about to leave when Landry suddenly stopped and groaned. "What's wrong, Love?" asked Miles, concerned.

"I'm absolutely daft! How could I have forgotten? The force field! We aren't going anywhere." Landry said sadly.

"Oh. You're not daft, Landry, I completely forgot about the force field, too," Genevieve said in an attempt to comfort her best friend.

"Actually, I think you'll find that our quest has not been hindered after all," said Dumbledore. "Recall how I apparated from here just an hour ago to go fetch the Minister?"

Scorpius furrowed his brow. "We just assumed you could do that because of the fact that you're a magically resurrected being," he said.

"Oh, no. You just need a password, which the Headmistress gave to me. It's 'spinach soup,'" Dumbledore revealed.

Landry's face lit up. "What are we waiting for, then? Let's go!"

"Where are we going first, Landry?" Albus asked.

"Oh. Right. Well, Voldemort has always been one for going places that are significant to his past, right? So I'd say maybe Godric's Hollow is a good place to start. Plus, that's also an extremely significant place for Grindelwald as well, so if he's anything like Voldemort, that's where he'll be," suggested Landry.

"That sounds like a solid place to start," said Scorpius.

"I agree. Gellert would go there, if only to mock me with memories of the past," Dumbledore said wistfully.

"Landry?" asked Genevieve, suddenly growing quiet. "What do we do once we do find them? The Death Eaters, Voldemort, and Grindelwald, I mean."

"I figured we'll have to snatch the Resurrection Stone back from Voldemort, so we can use it to send him and Grindelwald back where they belong."

"Great plan, Landry," Scorpius complemented. "Much easier said than done, but solid."

"I just realized," said Miles, worriedly. "What if Voldemort has made new Horcruxes?"

"Luckily, he cannot," said Dumbledore. "The resurrection stone can bring people back from the dead, but we are not meant to be in this world anymore. Our souls are not fully alive, but rather in an odd in-between stage. Since his soul is not truly alive, it cannot be split in this state. However, I don't think that Voldemort knows this. He is probably very angry and confused as to why he is not able to create them anymore."

"Has he claimed ownership of the Elder wand yet?" asked Albus. "Has he…has he found my father?"

"The Minister says that the White Tomb has not yet been broken, oddly enough, and Voldemort has not yet been able to find your father. However, I do not want to lie to you, so I will say that I am afraid it is only a matter of time before he does," Dumbledore responded.

"We'd better get going, then," said Scorpius, in response to his boyfriend's terrified expression.

"Alright," said Landry, taking a deep breath. "Wow. We're actually doing this. I wonder if we'll be expelled for this."

"Most likely," Scorpius said, grimly. "But if we can help defeat Voldemort and Grindelwald, then I think it'll be worth it, don't you?"

"Yes," said Landry. "I most certainly do. Now…shall we?"

The group walked through the halls, making sure to look around corners before turning them so as not to be caught. They were actually going to do it. They were going to leave Hogwarts. This was all real, and it was happening to them. If someone had told Landry Beckett just a couple of months ago that she and her best friends would be running away from Hogwarts, that she would be facing the two greatest foes that the Wizarding world had ever seen, that she would be walking alongside Albus Dumbledore, that she would be in love with the boy who had slept in the bed next to hers almost every night for the past six years, she would not have believed them. She still wasn't sure she truly believed it. But it was happening nonetheless.

As the cold, nighttime wind blew at their faces, the teenagers and Dumbledore made their way across the front courtyard and towards the bridge that would lead them off of Hogwarts ground. Soon they reached the edge of the force field. Dumbledore turned to them. "To get through the force field, you must each tap it with your wand and say the password," he explained.

Landry withdrew her wand and touched it to the wall of the giant force field. "Spinach soup," she said. Nothing happened. "Mr. Dumbledore, why isn't it working? Did I get the password wrong?" she asked.

"No, Landry, you did not. It did work. You'll now find that you can just walk through the force field," said Dumbledore.

Landry extended one arm and slowly stuck it through the force field. Though she could still see the glistening silvery wall, it felt as though there was nothing there. She walked the whole way through and took a deep breath. This was it. As the rest of the group joined her outside of the force field, one by one, it truly occurred to all of them the enormity of what they were doing. This wasn't Defense Against the Dark Arts class. This was the real world, with real enemies. It was not about good grades or bad grades. Now, it was life or death.

"Oh, I almost forgot," said Landry, pulling something out of her pocket and handing it to Dumbledore. "This is one of our special glass stones. We all have them, they're used to communicate from any distance. Tap it four times and think of which one of us you want to talk to, and it will contact their stone by making it vibrate. If they answer, their picture will appear in the stone."

Dumbledore looked at the stone curiously for a moment before pocketing it. "That is quite clever, indeed," he said.

"Thank you, sir," replied Landry. "Now," she said, turning to face the rest of the group. "Are we ready to go?"

Everyone nodded. "Alright, then. I'll see you all in a second, in someplace entirely different," said Landry.

She closed her eyes, pictured Godric's Hollow very clearly in her mind, and apparated.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Landry opened her eyes. She was standing in the middle of a vacant street. It was snowing. Her companions began to appear around her, each of them suddenly popping into view. She looked around nervously. It seemed calm and quiet, but Landry knew that they could very well be ambushed at any moment. Once everyone had arrived, Landry said "We have to find a secluded, safe place to set up camp. Of course we'll be using concealment charms, but ideally we don't want them to have to be the only thing between us and Death Eaters. I'd rather they not find our camping spot in the first place."

"I know a perfect spot," said Albus. "Follow me!"

The group trekked across the town very carefully, until they reached the graveyard. Albus had been here many times before, visiting the graves of his grandparents, as well as when he and Scorpius has been here, trapped in time on the night that Lily and James Potter had been murdered. They soon arrived at a very large garden in the middle of the graveyard. At least, Landry thought it had once been a garden. It looked more like a miniature forest, with tall trees and thick vegetation.

"There's a clearing in the middle of this garden that almost nobody knows about," Albus explained, leading them through the plants. "It started as a couple decorative bushes, but nobody ever tamed it, so it overgrew into this monstrosity of a garden you see today."

"Lucky for us," Genevieve pointed out.

They soon arrived at the clearing, and immediately Scorpius and Genevieve got to work on putting up their own personal force field, as well as concealment and silencing charms so that they wouldn't be seen or heard. Meanwhile, Landry removed the tent from her bag and set it up. From the outside, the tent looked like a normal, small, one person tent that a muggle would use to go camping. On the inside, it was quite spacious, with two bedrooms, as well as a living room with a pair of couches. After the charms were placed, everyone gathered inside of the tent. "So who gets the bedrooms?" asked Genevieve.

"The couples should get the bedrooms, I think," said Albus.

"No fair!" Genevieve retorted.

"It's perfectly fair," Albus replied. "It's really the most logical solution."

"So you're saying that you want to make the great Albus Dumbledore sleep on the couch?" asked Genevieve.

"Well, the great Albus Potter wants a bed!" said Albus.

"I agree with Albus," said Dumbledore. "Landry and Miles will get one bedroom, Scorpius and Albus get the other. Genevieve, you and I will be quite alright on the couches."

Genevieve sighed. "Okay, you're right. It does make the most sense for them to get the rooms," she said.

Landry and Miles went into their room and flopped down onto the bed. They were both completely exhausted, but neither of them felt sleepy. Landry looked over at her boyfriend and smiled. "Have I ever told you how adorable you are?" she asked him. Miles grinned.

"Have I ever told _you_ how adorable _you_ are?" he replied, pulling her closer to him.

"Your eyes are amazing," Landry said, looking at Miles' eyes. "For real. They look like a stormy ocean. All blue and green. I always envied them, ever since we were eleven. I wished there was a spell so that I could have them for myself. Now, in a way, I do."

Miles blushed deeply. "That was so sweet, Love," he said. "I love your eyes, too. They look dark, but when the sun hits them, they glow. Did you know that?"

"I didn't," said Landry, smiling. "I mean, I never really noticed. I thought you were going to say they reminded you of cinnamon, and that's why you like them," she chuckled.

Miles snorted. "I do love cinnamon, but not as much as I love you," he said, kissing her nose.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Landry. "Hey Miles, how did you figure out that you liked me? For me it was the veritaserum that we made in potions class."

Miles bit his lip. "In Madame Malkin's, when I saw you walk out in that dress. That was what made me realize, though I figured out after that that I had actually had feelings for you for a while before," he explained.

Smiling, Landry replied "It is a pretty spectacular dress."

Miles laughed. "That it is," he said.

The two had just begun to get involved in a heated kiss when Genevieve walked in.

"Hey guys, do you by any chance have any- AHHHHHH!"

Miles and Landry broke apart, laughing so hard they both fell to the floor.

"I'm scarred! Scarred, I tell you!" Genevieve cried.

"Gen, relax, we were literally just kissing," said Landry, still laughing.

"I don't care! All I wanted was some bloody chewing gum! Just some gum! Instead, I will be forever haunted by this image!"

"Gen, wasn't it you who always tried to help me with my crushes?" Landry asked.

"Well, yeah! I was being a good friend! But now you're together, my job is done. Super happy for you, but I don't wanna see all of that P.D.A!" Genevieve replied.

"P.D.A? Genevieve, we're in our own bedroom, in a tent, in a force field with concealment and silencing charms around us, in a secluded, secret garden. How is it P.D.A?" asked Miles.

Genevieve was not entertained. She rolled her eyes at them. "I'm going to go see if Albus or Scorpius have some gum," she said, walking away.

A few seconds later, Miles and Landry heard her shriek again from across the living room. "Not you guys, too! Honestly, get a room!"

"We did! We're in it!" Albus called.

Miles and Landry looked at each other and laughed. Landry decided that poor Genevieve really did deserve that gum, so she opened up her bag and stuck her arm into it, hunting around inside for some. Suddenly, it giggled. Landry gasped and yanked her arm out of it. "Did you hear that?" she asked Miles, but his wide eyed expression answered her question. Landry drew her wand out of her pocket and stuck it into the bag.

"Revelio," she said, pointing her wand into the bag. All of a sudden, something came flying out of the bag, landing, sprawled out, on the floor.

"_Pippa?_" Landry cried, staring in shock at her little sister. "How….why….._" _she began, but Landry truly had no words.

"Landry! You ruined my hiding spot! I was doing just fine until you tickled me!" Pippa whined.

"Everyone! Please get in here…now!" Landry called out.

The teenagers and Dumbledore stood around Pippa. "Oh my gosh!" cried Genevieve. "…..How?"

"Don't ask me! He's the one who said I should come!" Pippa said, pointing to Dumbledore.

The teenagers all turned to face him.

"No offense, Mr. Dumbledore, but why in the name of Merlin would you ever, _ever_ let an eleven year old girl come on a dangerous mission to defeat the two most terrible dark wizards of all time?" Landry asked angrily.

Dumbledore's face did not react. Instead, he simply replied, "This eleven year old was the only one who knew how to capture the Death Eaters at Hogwarts. Not even I would've thought of such a solution, and I daresay none of you would have, either. There is something very special about young Pippa, whether you see it or not. She will be a great asset to our team. Plus, I wasn't about to turn her down when she showed up in the Room of Requirement with those big, puppy dog eyes!"

"But…she could get hurt!" Landry cried.

"So could any of you," Dumbledore said.

Landry tried to think of a comeback, but found that she could not. "Very well, then. That is settled. Now, you all should try to get some sleep. I shall take the first watch," said Dumbledore, turning on his heel and exiting the tent.


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

On the outskirts of Godric's Hollow, there was a forest. Deep and thick was Godric's Forest, spanning to outline over half of the town's perimeter. Unbeknownst to the Hogwarts runaways, there was another, much larger campsite near the edge of this forest. Two pale, shoeless feet walked silently along the ground, pacing back and forth in front of a line of masked people, all dressed in black. A pair of red eyes opened towards the Death Eaters. "My friends," Voldemort greeted them. "Welcome. It has been far too long since I have walked on this earth, breathed this air. But from this time spent away, I have made a discovery. Death is no longer my enemy. The thing I fought for so long to avoid is now just another stepping stone on my road to infinite power. For now I know that not even death can defeat me."

"My Lord, your power is stronger now than it ever has been. You have possession of two of the Hallows. What is your plan?" asked one of the Death Eaters.

"With the resurrection stone, I will be bringing back some old acquaintances of mine. First, welcome back my most trusted servant who fought for me until the end, Bellatrix Lestrange," Voldemort announced. He turned the stone thrice in his hand, and soon a wicked laugh erupted in the silence. A head of wild, black hair appeared. Bellatrix immediately turned to Voldemort and bowed.

"Not even death will stop me from serving you, my Lord," she said. Voldemort nodded in acknowledgment, and Bellatrix ran off to join the line of her fellow Death Eaters. One by one, Voldemort brought back all of the loyal followers who had been lost during the second Wizarding War. Once he felt he had resurrected all of the servants who would still be of use to him in this role, he turned to face his now much larger group of Death Eaters.

"Now, I would like you to all meet someone very special," Voldemort began. As you may recall, Bellatrix was pregnant and gave birth right before the Battle. That child was my own, and I have broken her free from Azkaban so she may serve me. She does, of course, owe me her life, as I gave her hers. This is The Augery."

Delphini Riddle stepped out from the shadows, bowing deeply to her father. "I owe you everything. I live to serve you, Fa…my Lord," she said.

"Very good, Augery," he said, shooing her off to join his ranks. "Now finally, there is one more person to join our cause." A tall, handsome, blonde teenager stepped into view. "This is Gellert Grindelwald. He is a great asset to us for many reasons, but one in particular stands out. Grindelwald possesses something that nobody else has ever even come close to possessing," Voldemort explained.

"Indeed, I do," Grindelwald added on, smirking.

"And what might that be, my Dark Lord?" Bellatrix asked.

"Albus Dumbledore's heart," Voldemort answered.

—

The next day, Landry and her friends were sitting together in the living room of the tent, when, all of a sudden, the mood of the room seemed to change. Landry felt inexplicably sad. It felt like all the light had been sucked from the world, like she would never be happy again. Looking around, she noticed that she was not the only one who seemed to be feeling this way. Dumbledore was the only one who did not look utterly drained. In fact, he looked rather concerned. Landry shivered. Had the room really just dropped twenty degrees in temperature, or was it just her? "Take out your wands, children, and follow me," said Dumbledore. Everyone did as told, and they all followed him outside. As soon as they left the tent, it became clear what had caused the change of mood. Hundreds of black shapes filled the sky above, floating eerily together.

"Dementors," Scorpius gasped.

"Indeed," said Dumbledore grimly. "Known servants of evil. They are surely headed to find Voldemort or Grindelwald."

"Woah," said Albus.

"The force field will keep us safe while they pass, but once we're out from under it, we will have to rely on other forms of protection. I assume you are all familiar with the Patronus charm?"

Landry nodded. "We learned it in fifth year. I don't think I've cast one since then, though."

"I see. Would you mind if, for a moment, I revert back to my old role of Professor?" Dumbledore asked.

"Not at all, Sir," said Landry.

"Excellent. Now, if you could all gather round, that would be most convenient," continued Dumbledore, gesturing them all towards him.

The teenagers and Pippa formed a circle around Dumbledore.

"A Patronus is the embodiment of the light that is inside every one of you. This light can, if you believe hard enough, be strong enough to drown out even the darkest of things. Now, we will take turns practicing the Patronus charm. I will demonstrate," he said.

Dumbledore withdrew the wand that McGonagall had given him whenever he had first been resurrected. He closed his eyes, before uttering the words "Expecto Patronum." A blast of silvery light erupted from his wand, and it soon took the shape of a phoenix. It flew around Dumbledore several times, and he smiled fondly at it before it dissolved.

"Now then," Dumbledore said, looking up. "You can go first, Landry."

In order to cast a patronus, one must think back and remember one of their happiest memories. One so strong, filled with such light and joy, that it can drown out even the pure darkness of a dementor. Landry had always struggled with what memory she should choose, but today she had no hesitation. Landry closed her eyes and pictured the Halloween Ball. Her first kiss with Miles, the moment that she knew what love felt like. "Expecto Patronum," she cried. Silver mist appeared from her wand just as it had with Dumbledore's. But this time, it wasn't a phoenix, though it did have wings. A giant, silvery thestral dashed around the campsite. Everyone's jaws dropped at the sight, and as the creature disappeared, all eyes turned towards Landry with shock.

"Why did you never tell me that your Patronus is a thestral?" Scorpius cried. "Landry, it's a super rare Patronus, almost nobody has it!"

"I….really?" Landry questioned.

"What Scorpius says is true, Landry. The thestral Patronus is quite unusual. It takes a very unique witch to cast one," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Wow. I had no idea. I guess I remember Professor Dagley saying something about the thestral being odd whenever I took my test on casting the spell in fifth year, but I never really thought anything of it," Landry recalled.

"Okay, we get it, Landry's special, blah blah blah, it's my turn now!" Pippa said, pulling out her wand.

"Have you ever cast a patronus before, Pippa?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, but it seems easy enough. Point your wand, say the words, think of something happy. Easy peasy," Pippa replied.

"Very well, then. Give it a try."

Pippa shut her eyes tightly, and cried "Expecto Patronum!"

Everyone was expecting some majestic beast to immediately pop out of her wand, but instead, all that emerged was a tiny puff of silver mist. Pippa opened her eyes, and her face fell. "It's okay, Pip, try again!" said Landry, trying to comfort her sister.

"Okay, I will. I can do it this time!" Pippa said, this time with much more determination. "Expecto Patronum!" she cried. But, to her disappointment, still only a small silvery wisp of mist appeared. "Ugh!" she cried.

"Pippa, what were you thinking about, if you don't mind me asking?" said Miles, approaching her tentatively.

"Mac and cheese," Pippa said, looking up at him.

"Oh, well there's your problem. It has to be your happiest memory. One that fills you with so much light that it can drown out the darkness of the dementors. Here, I'll show you," Miles said. He took his wand in his hand and cried, "Expecto Patronum!"

A majestic unicorn appeared, rearing up on its hind legs before walking over to Miles. He smiled at it, and reached out to stroke its nose. As soon as he touched it, the unicorn evaporated. He turned to Pippa. "I was thinking of the Halloween Ball, when Landry and I had our first ki…started dating," Miles said.

Pippa rolled her eyes. "Oh please, Miles, don't try and spare my little kid innocence. I was literally there at the ball. I saw you making out with my sister," she said.

Landry laughed. Miles sighed. "Okay, moving on," he started, "Think of the happiest moment of your life, Pippa. One that really stands out."

Pippa closed her eyes. She stood still, silent for once, for over a minute. Then she raised her wand and shouted, "Expecto Patronum!"

A bright, silver, serpent-like creature shot from her wand. It started off quite small, but then began to grow. It was an occamy, scaly and feathered, and it was getting larger and larger, until…..the occamy dissolved. Pippa let out a squeal of delight. "I did it, I did it!" she cried, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Excellent work, Pippa," said Dumbledore.

"Thanks, Miles," said Pippa, turning to face her sister's boyfriend. "You were right. I thought of the day that Daddy and Pops adopted me. That's much happier than mac and cheese."

"I'm glad I could help," said Miles. "Though, I must admit, mac and cheese is really tasty."


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"Have our guests been taken care of, Augery?" Voldemort asked Delphi.

"Of course, my Lord," she said, bowing her head. "They are awaiting your visit."

"Excellent. Now, leave me. I have work to do. And send in Grindelwald," he ordered.

"As you wish, my Lord," Delphi said, walking backwards to exit, so as not to disrespect her father by turning her back to him. A minute later, Grindelwald entered Voldemort's tent, which was less like a tent and more like a mansion.

"You wanted to see me, my Lord?" Grindelwald questioned.

"Yes, Grindelwald. I have devised a plan, one that will use your assets to our great advantage," Voldemort explained.

"Please do enlighten me, if you so choose, my Lord," Grindelwald responded.

"Very well," Voldemort began. "It has come to my attention that Dumbledore and a small band of his ignorant young supporters have come after us. They seem to think that they can _defeat _us. Of course they cannot. You may be wondering why I don't just kill them. Well, that was, of course, my first thought. But, as it is, it seems they have a use to me. Or rather, your former beloved. I have been hiding something from my followers. The Carrows are the only ones who know of this hinderance. It seems that, when Harry Potter sealed the Elder Wand back into the White Tomb, he locked it with blood magic so that only Albus Dumbledore could open the tomb. Of course, only a short time ago, this would have meant that the tomb was permanently sealed. But now, with the return of Dumbledore, that is no longer true. I, of course, would go and fetch him myself, but there is one slight problem. The blood magic seal can only be broken if the person whose blood it requires gives it willingly. This is where you come in,"

"You want me to infiltrate their camp and use my….unique leverage to fool Dumbledore into willingly breaking the blood magic," Grindelwald stated.

"Precisely," Voldemort confirmed. "You must be sure to gain his complete trust. Go to any means necessary. He is not daft, I'll give him that. But, as I always say, love is weakness, and not even the great Albus Dumbledore is immune to it."

—

It was nearly sundown, but Dumbledore and the kids were still outside practicing defensive spells.

"Expecto Patronum!" cried Scorpius. A dragon erupted from his wand, and flew over to play with Albus's orca whale patronus.

"Curious," said Dumbledore to himself. Landry overheard him.

"What is?" she asked, curiously.

"Oh, I was simply thinking of your thestral patronus," Dumbledore replied.

"What about it?" Landry questioned.

"I don't think that it was stated before just how unusual it really is, Landry" he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"There have only been a handful of witches and wizards to ever possess such a patronus," Dumbledore explained. "Actually, I would go so far as to say there have only ever been around ten others with this capability."

"Woah…really? Landry gasped.

"Yes, really," said Dumbledore. He was still clearly in deep thought. Finally, he turned to Landry. "Are you familiar with Sybill Trelawney? he asked.

"Yeah, she's my Divinations teacher," Landry answered.

"Excellent. Now, I cannot see what goes on in the realm of the living, but there are some that can. Those who were seers in life are seers in death," Dumbledore explained.

"What are you talking about, Mr. Dumbledore?" Landry said, skeptically.

"Cassandra Trelawney is the proud owner of a sort of business in the afterlife," said Dumbledore. Landry's jaw dropped.

"A-afterlife?" she questioned.

"Indeed. You didn't think it all ended when you die, did you?" Dumbledore smirked.

"I….I don't know," Landry confessed.

"It's quite alright, Landry," Dumbledore comforted. "It is a world I cannot describe, so I won't attempt to. But as I said once before to Harry Potter, don't pity the dead. Pity the living."

"Sounds good, sir," Landry said, in shock.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Very well then. As I was saying, Cassandra Trelawney runs a lovely business in the afterlife. She keeps everyone updated on the goings-on of those that we dearly departed left behind. Instead of seeing the future, she can now see into the mortal realm," he explained.

"Brilliant, sir!" Landry exclaimed with fascination.

"It is rather, brilliant, isn't it? As you may imagine, Cassandra likes to keep an eye on her great-great-granddaughter," said Dumbledore.

"Professor Trelawney," Landry stated.

"Yes, Professor Trelawney. A few years ago, Cassandra witnessed Sybill make a prophecy, the third she had ever made. She was alone in her office, and I fear nobody would have heard her if Cassandra had not been listening in. Luckily, she was. Do you have any guesses as to what this prophecy said, Landry?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, sir. You just said that nobody in the…mortal realm knew of this prophecy, so it's not really logical that I would be able to make an accurate guess as to…." Landry trailed off. "That was a rhetorical question, wasn't it?" she asked, embarrassed.

"It was, but that is quite alright, Landry. I see why you were sorted into Ravenclaw," Dumbledore said.

"What did Professor Trelawney see?" Landry asked, practically dripping with anticipation.

Dumbledore opened his mouth to reply, but he was interrupted by a sudden noise that sounded as though something had been electrocuted. The force field dome around them rippled. Albus ran up to them. "It's Grindelwald. He's found us," Albus said, petrified with fear. Landry's heart began to race.

"What do we do?" Albus asked.

"Albus, you, Miles, and Scorpius take Pippa and hide in the tent. Genevieve and I will go with Dumbledore to confront him," Landry said.

Landry could tell that Albus was about to protest, but it seemed that he had thought better of it, so he just nodded and ran off. Genevieve soon came dashing past them, not stopping as she cried out to them, "Let's go!"

Landry, Genevieve, and Dumbledore sprinted to the place where the ripple had come from, arriving just in time to see Grindelwald strike the force field with another volt of electricity. "He cannot see us, but he knows we are here," Dumbledore observed.

"What should we do?" Landry asked.

"Leave this to me. You two, hide. Somewhere that you can still see us if things go south," Dumbledore instructed.

Landry and Genevieve dashed towards a stocky tree, hiding behind it. They watched as Dumbledore tapped his wand to the force field and said the password that would allow him to exit it. He walked through, and Grindelwald gave a start when Dumbledore appeared.

"You frightened me, Albus," he said.

"What are you here for, Gellert?" Dumbledore asked.

"You," said Grindelwald.

"You're here to kill me? I'm sorry, Gellert, but unfortunately I cannot be killed using the usual methods. You would have to have possession of the Resurrection Stone to be able to send me back to my rightful realm," Dumbledore informed him.

"No, I am not here to kill you, Albus," Grindelwald said. He took a step towards Dumbledore.

"Are you here to kidnap me, then?" Dumbledore said, trying to ignore the odd feeling that was spreading through his chest as Grindelwald stepped closer yet.

"No, Albus, don't you understand?" Grindelwald said. He suddenly grabbed Dumbledore by the waist and pulled him towards himself. Landry's jaw dropped, and she gasped.

"What? What are they doing? What's happening?" Genevieve prodded. She was hiding in a position that she could not see Dumbledore and Grindelwald from.

"They're…" Landry trailed off.

"Dueling? Wrestling?" Genevieve guessed.

"Kissing," Landry said. Genevieve's eyes widened. She quickly scrambled up and joined Landry in peeking out from behind the tree. Sure enough, there they were.

"Oh my god!" Genevieve exclaimed. "They're literally _making out_, gross! They're worse than you and Miles!"

"That is hardly the point, Genevieve," Landry said.

"Is Dumbledore Confunded? Imperioed? Did Grindelwald force something down Dumbledore's throat? Besides his tongue…" Genevieve said, shuttering in disgust.

"I really don't think so. I would've seen that. I'm so confused," Landry stated.

Eventually Dumbledore and Grindelwald broke apart. "I'm still in love with you, Albus," Grindelwald said. Dumbledore had, for once, completely lost his composure.

"I don't understand, Gellert," was all he could say in response.

"I realized a lot while being imprisoned in Nurmengard, and even more while being dead," Grindelwald started. "I always thought that enslaving Muggles was the most important thing. I thought that it was 'For the greater good,' I thought that it would make the world the way I perceived it should be. But I was wrong, Albus. None of that matters. It never did. I was a boy, blinded by power. All those lonely days I spent, sitting on the cold stone, I only wished for one thing. Your presence. The chance to apologize. I deserved what I got, Albus. I truly did, and I surely deserve much more. The death of Ariana was a crime that no punishment could make up for. I know I don't deserve it, but I have come to ask, to beg, not for your forgiveness, but to join you. You spent your whole life fighting for the true greater good. Now I would like to do the same with this new chance at life I was given. I had come to Godric's Hollow to clear my head and to figure out how best to do that when I saw you and these brave children appear in the street. I knew I had to find you, to beg you to let me join your company. I have changed, Albus. I am ready to do what you knew all along was right. And I want to do it alongside the man I love."

Dumbledore had tears in his eyes. He felt utterly and completely raw, his usual front of calm and wiseness had been stripped away. "What about what you said when we first arrived here?" he asked, blinking the tears away as best he could.

"My mind was jumbled, I was not thinking straight. It seems that coming back to life can cause some confusion," Grindelwald chuckled.

"It's quite alright, Gellert. I was not entirely sure of my memories when I first arrived, either, Dumbledore said.

Grindelwald smiled. "So…does this mean…" he trailed off, giving Dumbledore a questioning look.

"I would be honored to fight alongside you again, Gellert," Dumbledore said, finally letting his tears fall free.

Grindelwald threw his arms around Dumbledore.

Meanwhile, Landry and Genevieve were still watching, in shock after hearing what had just happened. "What in the name of Merlin is happening?" asked Genevieve.

"I don't know," Landry said. "But this cannot be what it seems to be."


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

It was quite a while before Dumbledore remembered that he had left Landry and Genevieve to hide behind a tree. When he finally recalled that they were present, he quickly went to the tree. Genevieve had fallen asleep, while Landry was just sitting there, clearly in deep thought. "Ah, Landry," Dumbledore addressed her. "I assume you saw what happened, then?" he asked, gesturing to her confused face.

"Yes, I did," she said. "And I have a couple questions, the first of which is 'WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!"

Dumbledore sighed. "_Sir,_" Landry added on.

"I do owe you an explanation, don't I?" Dumbledore asked.

"To say the least, Mr. Dumbledore," Landry said.

"Very well," he said. "Please wake Genevieve while I go retrieve our new companion. We shall meet back at the tent."

He walked away before Landry could protest. She grimaced, turning to the still sleeping Genevieve to wake her. After shaking Genevieve much harder than she would have liked, Landry finally got her to wake up. She immediately sat up. "What happened? What did I miss?" Genevieve asked.

"Dumbledore wants us to meet him and his…_Grindelwald_ at the tent. So we've got to go right now so we can get there before him and warn the others," Landry explained.

"Alright, let's go," Genevieve agreed. The two girls sprinted back to the tent. As they entered, Miles immediately threw his arms around Landry.

"Thank goodness you're okay," he said.

"I love you too, Miles, but we have a situation," Landry said.

"What's wrong?" asked Albus. "Where's Dumbledore?"

"Oh no, did Grindelwald get him?" Scorpius cried.

"Um…sort of…" Landry said. "He's seemingly fine, though. We have to warn you, though. You guys are in for a real shock. I'm not entirely sure what's happening."

"Landry, you're scaring us," Albus said, worriedly.

"You should be scared," Genevieve said, shuttering. "So much _tongue_."

"What the heck are you talking about, Genevieve?" Pippa questioned.

"Dumblewald!" Genevieve cried.

Landry snorted. "_Dumblewald?"_

"Yeah, it's their ship name," Genevieve replied.

"Ship name? What's Miles and I's ship name?"

"Lales," Genevieve said, without skipping a beat.

"_Lales?" _Landry laughed.

"Yeah, you and Miles are Lales, and Albus and Scorpius are Scorbus," Genevieve explained.

"Scorbus? Aw, that's so cute!" Scorpius giggled.

"This is _not_ the time!" Albus shouted. He turned to Genevieve. "Do you mean to tell me that Dumbledore and Grindelwald are…_back together?_"

Genevieve and Landry nodded grimly. Before anyone else could react, Dumbledore walked into the tent. All eyes turned towards him. "Ah, I see that Landry and Genevieve have filled you in, then?" he asked.

"Yeah, we know you're back with Grindelwald. But I must request you give us an explanation, considering that literally an hour ago your plan was to defeat him," Pippa sassed.

"As you wish," Dumbledore said. "Gellert, you can come in now!"

Grindelwald entered the tent. All six of the students pulled their wands out, ready to fight if Grindelwald tried anything. Grindelwald sighed sadly. "See, I told you Albus, they're scared of me. Rightfully so, of course. I don't think they'll ever be able to trust me. I knew this was too good to be true," he sniffled.

"No, Gellert, this is not your fault. Children, I understand that this is quite the shock, and may take some time to get used to, but Gellert has changed. He is a new man, and wants to use his new chance at life to help us defeat Voldemort," Dumbledore explained.

Grindelwald nodded in agreement. "I made this whole speech about it to Albus, I truly wish you had been there," he said.

Nobody but Dumbledore was convinced, especially not Landry. "How do you explain what you said whenever you first returned, then? You know, about _destroying us_?" she asked quizzically.

Dumbledore chuckled. "I asked the very same thing, Landry," he said.

"I deeply apologize for that, children," Grindelwald said, looking to Landry and Miles. "My mind was boggled from being brought back to life. It is not an easy transition, as you may imagine. For a moment, my head was spinning and I was confused back into my old ways. As soon as I disapparated, I regained my true memories. I felt so terrible for the fright I must have caused you, I still do, but I decided it would merely frighten you more to return right away and apologize then."

The teenagers and Pippa exchanged wary glances. Grindelwald _really_ did seem remorseful, and Dumbledore was fully convinced, and acting much happier than he had been the whole time since he had returned to the mortal realm. If Dumbledore trusted him, then Landry decided to try to, as well. But she still felt incredibly unsure.

"If Dumbledore trusts him, then I suppose that's all there is to it," Albus said, seeming equally unsettled as Landry felt.

"I guess everyone deserves a second chance," Genevieve said, attempting to smile, but looking more like she was constipated.

Scorpius, Landry, and Miles nodded. Pippa frowned. "I still don't trust him," she said, turning on her heel and leaving the tent. Dumbledore sighed, turning to Grindelwald.

"Don't mind Pippa," he said.

Grindelwald turned to the teenagers. "Thank you all ever so much," he said. "This is a dream come true!"

He extended his hand towards Landry, prompting a handshake. Landry reluctantly shook it.

"Now, let's go get you one of those spare wands to use," Dumbledore said, leading Grindelwald to where the magic bag of supplies was, in Landry and Miles's bedroom. Pippa was still sulking outside, which left the five teenagers alone in the living room.

"Okay, who here doesn't trust him?" Albus asked. All of his four friends raised a hand.

"This cannot be happening, it makes no sense at all," Scorpius agreed.

"Has Dumbledore been cursed?" Miles asked. Landry shook her head.

"I was watching them the whole time they were…reuniting. I swear on Merlin's grave that I didn't see any cursing, jinx, hex, or anything else occur. We could use a revealing spell on Dumbledore while he's asleep just to be sure, but I really don't think it will show anything," Landry said.

"I don't know about you, but I'll be keeping a close eye on him," Genevieve said. "Nobody hurts my best friends."

"Thanks, Gen," Landry said with a smile.

"Ugh," Miles groaned. I know he's up to something, I just know it!"

"We do too, Babe," Landry reassured him. "But Dumbledore is completely convinced. Our words aren't going to prove him otherwise, so we're going to need some solid evidence."

"Like what?" asked Scorpius.

"Anything that will prove he's lying," answered Landry.

"We'll have to watch him like hawks," Genevieve pointed out.

"True," said Landry.

"This is just so wonderful," said Albus, sarcastically. "Now we have this mess to deal with, as well as our original task of defeating two dark wizards and a boatload of Death Eaters."

"It's not ideal, I know, but it's our reality," Landry said.

"Remember those two weeks after the Halloween Ball when everything was blissful?" Miles sighed, wistfully.

"Yeah, I do," said Landry, smiling. She laced her fingers with his. "We're out here so that we, and the rest of Wizardkind, will have a chance at finding that happiness again."


	27. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

The next day, everyone was sitting in the living room area of the tent when Landry remembered that Dumbledore had never finished his story about the Trelawneys. Dumbledore was sitting on the couch across from her and Miles, laughing at something Grindelwald had said. Landry grimaced. She did not want Grindelwald to know about this thing that had seemed so important to Dumbledore yesterday. "Mr. Dumbledore, could I talk to you, please?" she asked.

"Certainly, Landry," he said, looking up at her. "What is it?"

"Um, I meant _alone_," she replied, eying Grindelwald.

"Very well," he said, reluctantly, getting up from the couch and following Landry out of the tent. "Now, what did you need to talk to me about?" asked Dumbledore.

"Grindelwald's arrival kind of interrupted that story you were telling me yesterday," Landry explained. "About Professor Trelawney and her great-great-grandmother?"

Dumbledore's expression softened. "Ah, of course," he said, sitting on a nearby log and patting the spot beside him so as to signal Landry to sit next to him. She sat. "So where was I?" asked Dumbledore.

"You were about to tell me what Professor Trelawney predicted, Sir," Landry reminded him.

"Indeed," he replied. "Yes, your Divinations teacher made a prophecy, that is for certain."

"What was the prophecy?" Landry asked, impatiently.

Dumbledore chuckled. "I'm getting to that, Landry," he said. "I assume you've heard the tale of the Three Brothers?"

"Yes, of course. The story of how the Hallows came to be. Death created the Hallows for the Peverell brothers as a trick, but was only able to outsmart two of them," said Landry.

"Precisely. But the brothers are not what I'm concerned with at the moment. This all has to do with Death," explained Dumbledore.

"Death?"

"Long ago, when Death still roamed the mortal realm, he impregnated a witch," Dumbledore said.

"Sir, with all due respect, please never say the word 'impregnate' ever again," Landry said, her face shriveling up in disgust.

Dumbledore would have normally chuckled in response to this, but his face remained blank. He ignored her comment and continued. "The child of Death was like any other wizard. He lived a normal life, and died at the ripe old age of 132. His descendants remained the average wizarding family, eventually merging with other pureblooded families, thus eradicating their original name altogether. The family eventually stopped keeping track of the lineage of Death, and the story faded into legend. But it is true. Very, very true…"

"Sir, where are you going with this?" Landry asked, suddenly growing quite nervous.

Dumbledore looked solemn as he said, "Professor Trelawney's prediction is as follows, and forgive me if I do not quote her word for word."

_"The daughter of Death will come into the light. The symbol of her linage will shine brighter than the stars, and she will be faced with a deathly challenge. She will find the stone her ancestor made, and the balance of life and death will be tampered with. Only she has the ability to realign the realms and disassemble the tools that are said to be her master. Only she can right the wrong the imbalances caused."_

Landry paled. Her suspicions were confirmed, but she did not want to believe it. Dumbledore gave her a sympathetic look. "It is said that the descendants of Death all possess one rare similarity," he said.

"A thestral patronus," said Landry, shakily.

"Indeed," Dumbledore confirmed.

"I'm….the great-great-great-great…how ever many great's….granddaughter of…_Death_?"

"It seems so, Landry," Dumbledore said. "I do believe the prophecy is coming true. I had my suspicions from the moment we met, but only when I saw your patronus, the symbol of your linage that shone brighter than the stars, did I know for sure."

"I….I can barely wrap my head around this. I'm just Landry!" she cried.

"Of course you are," said Dumbledore. "You're the same girl you have always been."

"No, I'm not! I'm…_Death!_" Landry said, her voice sounding more and more panicked by the second. "What do I do, Dumbledore? I'm now apparently the only one who can save us all! I'm not that special! How do you expect me to do that?"

"With our help," said a voice from behind her. Landry whirled around, and there was Miles, peeking out timidly from inside the tent. Landry immediately stood up and ran to hug him. "Sorry for eavesdropping," he apologized. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I probably shouldn't have done it."

"It's completely fine, Babe, I would've done that same thing," Landry said, her heart swelling with love for her boyfriend.

"I love you, you know that? No matter what," Miles told her, hugging her tighter.

"Even though I'm the literal spawn of Death itself?" Landry asked, giggling weakly through the tears that had begun to fall down her face.

"So what if you're a descendant of Death? I'm double-jointed. We all have our quirks," Miles replied.

Landry laughed. "Actually, double-jointedness isn't real. What causes you to be able to bend your joints in the ways you can is hypermobility, which can actually cause health problems later in life," she explained.

"I feel like most people would find that irritating, but I just find it endearing," Miles giggled, kissing his girlfriend.

—

"This is unacceptable! I cannot believe that we have not been able to locate Potter yet!" hissed Voldemort.

"I assure you, my Lord, it is all we are doing, we are working day and night to find him," a Death Eater replied.

"Work harder!" Voldemort cried. "Now go! Do not show your face again until you have found him!"

The Death Eater left, leaving the furious Voldemort alone. He stood from his throne and walked out of his tent. He was in the mood to spill blood. As he walked across his campgrounds, he said to Delphi as he passed her, "I will be with our special guests for several hours now. Nobody is to bother me."

Voldemort eventually arrived at his destination, entering the dark, slimy cave. Several shadowed figures were chained to the wall. "Hello. It is ever so nice to see you all again," Voldemort said in a sickening voice.

"What do you want from us? Where are we? What in the name of Merlin is happening here?" one of the chained people said.

"Yeah, tell him, Prongs!" said the person next to him.

"Don't provoke him!" cried another of the prisoners.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you," Voldemort replied.

"What are you talking about? We're already dead," said a feminine voice.

"You _were_ dead. As was I. _Was. _As in, past-tense," said Voldemort.

"What? How?" asked a fourth prisoner.

"It's all thanks to your son's stupidity," Voldemort explained. "He should have destroyed the stone when he had the chance. But alas, he left it in the forest for anyone to find. And a silly little girl did."

"Don't you _dare_ insult Harry!" one of the prisoners cried fiercely.

Voldemort chuckled. "Calm yourself, stupid girl. You're almost as daft as your son."

"You can hurt us all you like, but you will _not _cause any more harm to Harry!" yelled the first prisoner.

"I'll do whatever I like," said Voldemort, grinning wickedly.

"There will _always_ be someone to stop you, as long as there is still good left in the world. You've lost twice before, you'll lose again!"

But that simply isn't so," Voldemort responded.

"Go ahead and believe that. I don't care. It makes no difference to me, nor does it change your fate," said another prisoner, through gritted teeth.

"It does not, you're right. But you have no idea what I have in store this time. I will not fall this time. I will rise, more powerful than ever," Voldemort cried.

"Over my resurrected body," said James Potter.


	28. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

After Landry's talk with Dumbledore, and the discovery of her true lineage, she was left feeling very strange, indeed. It didn't feel as though she'd lost herself, no, that wasn't it. It was almost like she'd unburied a new side of herself that had always been there, but never come to light. Now Landry felt, looking back, that quite a lot of things about herself made a lot more sense. She could remember a story from when she was very young, before she went to Hogwarts, before she even knew she was a witch. It was one of Landry's earliest memories, she must have been about three or four. Before her dads adopted her, when she was still living in a group care home, Landry could remember one of her earliest experiences of accidental magic. It had been another child's birthday, and there had been a party, with cake and balloons. She could remember that it was Springtime, and everything had begun to bloom. Landry had found herself feeling quite jealous, as she herself had been born in January, and when she had had her party, it had been winter, with ice and snow. Everything outside had been cold and colorless. Being a child, she did not understand why her friend got an outdoor party in a colorful garden full of flowers, while she got an indoor party in the dining room. It made her green with envy. She wished she could take away all the flowers, make them colorless just like her own party. Landry had been standing in front of her window, looking out at the caretakers setting up the party in the garden, wishing with all her might to take away the flowers. Slowly, the flowers began to die. All the plants in the garden shriveled, and Landry's eyes widened. Had she caused this?

Now, looking back, it figured. Her first sign of magic had been death. Landry found herself feeling very nervous about this. She suddenly had this terrifying ancestry she had to live with, and part of her was yearning to try and deny that she had very telltale signs of it. Part of her wanted to write up pages and pages of essays on how unlike Death she was, but she knew it was false. She had some similarities, and that was okay. It didn't make her evil. Death wasn't evil. Death was normal, and, according to Dumbledore, far less difficult than life. Landry had accepted it, and now she found it gave her a new wave of determination. She was here, in Godric's Hollow, with all her friends. It was time to do what they came here to do.

Landry marched purposefully into the tent, where the rest of the group was all sitting. She cleared her throat loudly, and all eyes turned towards her. "So," she began, "I kinda have something to tell you."

"That you're related to Death? We know. You were literally sitting right outside the tent when Dumbledore told you, did you really think that Miles was the only one to overhear?" Pippa said quizzically.

Landry was taken aback by Pippa's bluntness, (as was the usual after everything Pippa said) but she quickly regained her composure. "Oh. Okay then," she said, with a small giggle. "That isn't all I wanted to tell you guys, though," Landry continued.

"What? Am I related to Death, too? That would be quite strange, seeing as how we're both adopted and not related by blood," Pippa pointed out.

"No, that's not it either, Pip," Landry laughed. "Though you know that it doesn't matter whether or not we're related by blood or not, you're still my little sister and I love you bunches."

Pippa rolled her eyes. "I get it, you've literally said that same thing about a million times since I was first adopted. Get on with it, Landry. What do you actually want to tell us?"

"Well, we've kind of just been camping in this little grove for a couple days. I just think it's about time we do what we came here to do," explained Landry.

"I was thinking the same thing," said Genevieve. "So what do we do? We don't even know if Voldemort is in Godric's Hollow! Though I'd say our chances are pretty good considering those dementors we saw."

"Actually," said Grindelwald, "we do know he's here."

"What?" Scorpius questioned.

"He tried to get me to join him. He captured me and brought me to his camp, and when I refused to help him, he imprisoned me. I obviously escaped, but when I was chained up, I was secluded. I did hear other voices nearby, though. I'm sure there are other prisoners, probably innocent ones. We could start off by attempting to free them. I know just where Voldemort is keeping those captives," Grindelwald said.

Landry was surprise by how…_not evil _this plan was. "That's actually a very good idea, Gri- _Mr. _Grindelwald," she said,

"Okay, so if Grindelwald knows where the prisoners are, what are we standing around here for? Let's go release some innocent people! Yeah!" Pippa cheered.

"I…what she said," said Genevieve, shrugging.

"Alright. Let's go. But we have to be very, very careful not to be seen," warned Landry.

"Duh," snorted Pippa.

"I know where the back entrance to the cave he's using as a jail is. I escaped through it. I'll lead you there!" Grindelwald said enthusiastically.

Landry furrowed her brows. She was still not at all convinced that Grindelwald was trustworthy. "Are we actually going to follow him?" Landry whispered to Miles.

"I guess so. Do we have any other option?" Miles pointed out.

"I suppose that's true. Like Albus said before, Dumbledore really seems to trust him, too, so I guess we should try, too," Landry conceded.

Grindelwald and Dumbledore led the kids to the edge of the force field. "Does everyone remember the password?" Dumbledore asked. They all nodded. "Excellent. Let us be off, then."

Dumbledore tapped his wand to the wall of the force field, and said "Orange sorbet." Grabbing ahold of Grindelwald's hand, Dumbledore led him through the force field. All of the rest of the group immediately followed, and soon they were all standing outside of the area of their magical protection spells. Landry felt quite vulnerable. This was the real world. She was about to infiltrate the camp of _the _Lord Voldemort. She knew nothing could possibly prepare her for the possibility of encountering the Dark Lord himself again, not that it had fully set in that it was all real. She hoped with all hope that she wouldn't have to.

"Lead the way, Gellert," said Dumbledore.

Grindelwald, with his borrowed wand lighting the way, led them on the darkest and shadiest path that he could find, so that they would be as invisible as possible while on their way to Voldemort's jail. Landry heard Pippa grumble something about how useful her invisibility cloak would be right about now. After what felt like hours of sculling through dark spaces, they arrived on the edge of a forest. "We are about to enter Voldemort's camp. Keep your wands out, and be silent. The back entrance to the cave is very close," Grindelwald said.

Landry held her wand tightly in one hand, and Miles's hand tighter in the other. They walked along a twisted path through the thick forestation, until, eventually, they came to a small clearing in the forest which housed a rocky structure that had obviously been made using magic. There was a tiny crack in the stone, just large enough for one person to squeeze through. "This is it," Grindelwald said. "Single file, please."

The group followed him, one by one, through the hole and into the cave. It was dark, cold, and utterly terrifying inside. There were jagged rocks spiking out in various random angles, sharp enough to slice through a dragon's hide. Landry did not want to think about what it could do to a human. "This is where I was being held," Grindelwald said, gesturing to a small flat patch of stone in a corner. Landry was confused.

"Where are your chains?" she asked.

"What?" Grindelwald replied.

"Your chains. When you were being held captive, you said you were chained up," Landry repeated.

"They're right there," said Grindelwald, giving her a weird look. Sure enough, when Landry looked back to the corner, there was a set of broken chains still secured to the wall. She did a double take. Landry was absolutely sure that the chains had not been there before. "Oh well," she thought. "It is quite dark in here. I guess I just didn't see them at first glance."

The group carefully navigated their way deeper into the cave, and soon they began hearing voices echoing from nearby. As they turned a corner, a set of shadowed figures chained to the cave wall came into view. All of them looked up at the sound of Landry's group's approaching footsteps. It was very dark, and their faces could not be seen. "Who are you?" asked one of the figures. "Are you Death Eaters, come to torture us some more?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Nymphadora. They're clearly Hogwarts students," said another of the shadowy figures in a deep, gruff voice.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" said the first figure again, angrily. "Anyways, I couldn't tell that they're students, not all of us have magic eyes like you."

_Nymphadora._ That name sounded very familiar to Landry, but she couldn't quite remember where she had heard it before. There was no time to think about it now. The teenagers, Pippa, Dumbledore, and Grindelwald all rushed over to the prisoners, all crying "bombarda," severing their chains. "Follow me," Dumbledore said to the newly freed prisoners. "Quickly, now."

They all rushed as quickly as possible through the cave and out of the forest. They snuck through the village, and into the graveyard which housed their secret garden campsite. As they tiptoed through the graveyard, two of the escapees stopped in their tracks as they passed a specific set of gravestones. "No time to pay your condolences, we have to get to safety," Grindelwald urged. The group moved on, and finally they reached the force field. They used the password and led all of their new companions inside. Only once everyone was safe did Landry stop to look at them. It had been too dark inside the cave to see their faces, but now they were all too striking. Albus grew pale, stepping towards the two escapees who had stopped at the gravestones.

"Grandma? Grandpa?" Albus gasped.

James and Lily Potter were just as shocked as their grandson.

"I am becoming increasingly more suspicious that we are, in fact, alive," said Remus Lupin.

"You think, Moony?" said Sirius Black sarcastically.

"Albus? Is that you?" asked Mad-Eye Moody.

"Yes," answered both Albus Dumbledore and Albus Potter.

"Merlin's beard," a shocked Fred Weasley gasped.

"You're saying that we're alive again? How?" asked Nymphadora Tonks.

"I promise that all of your questions will be answered soon," Grindelwald said.

"Is that _Grindelwald?_" yelped James Potter.

"Indeed, he aided in your escape," Dumbledore said.

"This is too weird," Fred said.

"For you and I both, Uncle," Albus replied.


	29. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"You let them _escape?_" said Voldemort, in a eerily calm voice.

"My Lord, I assure you we have half our ranks dispatched to search for them right now," sputtered a terrified Peter Pettigrew.

"Why are only _half _our ranks dispatched? Send everyone you can out hunting! This could ruin everything! We have to find them!" shrieked Voldemort.

Pettigrew nodded, turning to leave Voldemort's tent. "Just one moment, Wormtail," Voldemort said. Pettigrew turned back to face Voldemort.

"It was your job to make sure they didn't escape. You have failed me," Voldemort said, pulling the resurrection stone from his robes. He turned it not three, but four times in his hand. Pettigrew began to glow, along with the stone. Taking his borrowed wand in his hand, Voldemort cried, "Avada Kedavra!" As the blast of green light hit Pettigrew square on the chest, he dissolved, and was dead once again.

"I know who is behind this," Voldemort said with gritted teeth. "Dumbledore and those nasty children. I must contact Grindelwald."

—

"So you mean to tell me that Voldemort has brought us all back to life, after being brought back to life himself, in order to torture us for trying to go against him in the past?" Remus Lupin asked.

"That is correct, Remus," Dumbledore confirmed.

"And you and Grindelwald were also resurrected as your teenage selves, but Grindelwald has turned good and joined the cause to defeat Voldemort again?" Fred Weasley continued.

"Yes, Uncle Fred," Albus said.

"And…you're our grandson?" Lily Potter asked Albus.

"Um, yeah. Nice to meet you," Albus said. "I'm Albus Potter. This is my best friend Landry, her boyfriend, Miles, my other best friend Genevieve, Landry's little sister, Pippa, and my boyfriend, Scorpius."

"Lils, he looks just like that Malfoy kid we used to go to school with! The one who became a Death Eater," James said, referring to Scorpius.

Scorpius laughed nervously. "Um, that would be because I'm his grandson," Scorpius revealed.

"Oh. You're not a Death Eater, I assume?" asked James.

"No, Sir," Scorpius said, shaking his head vigorously.

"I am so sorry about him, Dear," Lily said, rolling her eyes at her husband.

"Ah, so Harry and Ginny got hitched, then?" Fred asked.

"Um, yeah, they're my parents," Albus said.

"Lovely. I'm your Uncle George's better looking twin, though I'm sure you know all about me. These are your grandparents, you've just met them, then that's your dad's Godfather Sirius, his husband Remus, and Remus's baby mama, Tonks. Then there's Mad-Eye, Dorcas, and Marlene. After that there's Alice and Frank, they're Neville Longbottom's parents, I'm sure you know Neville. They died just recently. After that there's, well, basically the entire rest of the Order who fell in battle," Fred explained.

"I know! I mean, I've read and heard all about you. You're all quite famous. It's an honor to meet you all," Landry said, feeling a bit starstruck.

"If you don't mind me asking, do you know my son? Teddy Lupin is his name, he's Harry Potter's Godson," Tonks asked.

"Yeah, Teddy comes round at home often enough," Albus said. "He's engaged to my cousin Victoire."

"How many of your cousins are named after me? I'd reckon at least a dozen," joked Fred.

"Actually, only one. Sorry," Albus shrugged.

"Only one? I'm offended! I'm appalled! I'll be having some _words_ with them…" Fred trailed off, his eyes growing wide. Suddenly, tears began running down his cheeks. "I'll be having some words with them!" he cried, jumping up and down in excitement and joy.

"Yes, if we can get you out of here alive," Dumbledore pointed out.

"I agree, we need to get everyone out of Godric's Hollow as soon as possible. Voldemort has surely realized they're all gone by now, he'll be coming after us any minute," Landry said.

"Where should we go?" Genevieve asked.

"Hogwarts, of course," Grindelwald said. "It's surely the safest place."

"Excellent idea, Gellert!" Dumbledore said. He immediately took out his wand, uttering a spell and waving it. The force field around them flashed blue for a se=plit second before turning back to normal.

"What was that. Mr. Dumbledore?" Landry asked.

"I removed the password from the force field so that it will be easier for everyone to apparate out from under its protection. We won't be using it anymore, anyways."

"Oh, good idea, Sir," Genevieve complimented.

"Thank you, Genevieve," said Dumbledore, before turning to address the rest of the group. "We shall take everyone to Hogwarts. Everyone here knows what it looks like, so they can all apparate themselves. Once we get there, we will secure the castle further, and call in the Aurors. Of course, you'll all have to go to a spot right outside the grounds, because, if you do recall, there's an anti-apparation spell on the castle."

"How about we all apparate to the Shrieking Shack?" suggested Remus.

"Great thinking, Moony!" Sirius cried. "We can lead everyone through the secret passageway under the whomping willow!"

"That sounds wonderful, Remus," Dumbledore said. "Oh, I almost forgot!" he realized. "There is a force field around the castle, so once you run into it, just tap your wand to it and say, 'Spinach soup.'"

"Er, we don't have wands, Professor," Tonks pointed out.

"You're quite right," Dumbledore chuckled. "Here, take mine. It's a loaner, anyways."

"Speaking of, Albus," Grindelwald said, "I've been thinking…why should you be using a borrowed wand when there's a perfectly good wand just laying beside your body?"

"What are you talking about, Gellert?" Dumbledore asked.

"Voldemort is trying to get the Elder wand, Albus. It's a miracle he hasn't yet. You should go claim it before he can. It's yours, after all," Grindelwald said.

"Oh, Gellert, but it isn't mine. The wand's alliance is currently with Harry Potter," said Dumbledore.

"I'm sure Mr. Potter would be happy to let you disarm him so you could use it again. Besides, even if you don't use it, we would still be protecting it from Voldemort," Grindelwald persuaded.

"That is a very good point. Alright, Gellert, we shall retrieve the Elder wand," agreed Dumbledore.

Landry's jaw dropped. She no longer cared that Grindelwald helped them rescue the prisoners, or that Dumbledore trusted him. This had to be a trick! Landry immediately pulled Dumbledore aside. "Sir, I know you think that Grindelwald has changed, but please reconsider," she warned. "I mean, he just straight up suggested you get the Elder wand! Does that not seem suspicious to you?"

Dumbledore's face fell. "Now, Landry, I thought we discussed this. I fully trust Gellert. It's an excellent idea to claim the wand so that Voldemort cannot."

"But, Sir, don't you think it's weird that Voldemort hasn't gotten the wand yet? There has to be a reason for that, he seemed very set on getting it whenever he was first resurrected!" Landry cried.

"I don't know why Voldemort has not claimed the wand yet, but I hardly see how that is relevant," Dumbledore retorted.

"I just-"

Dumbledore cut her off. "That's quite enough, Landry. We are done discussing this."

She sighed, walking back to her friends. When she approached, she suddenly noticed that Miles's eyes were beginning to widen in fear. "What's wrong, Babe?" she asked him.

"Everyone quiet! Now!" Miles shouted. Silence ensued. "Listen. Footsteps," Miles said.

Sure enough, they could hear the slow crunch of footsteps walking on the fallen leaves nearby. They all looked around for the source of the noise. The footsteps grew louder and closer, and the terror levels of everyone at the campsite shot upwards. That was when they saw him. Two red eyes became clear in the shadows. "I know you're here, though I cannot see you. Return to me what is mine and I will cause you no harm," Voldemort said.

Suddenly, chaos ensued. "Albus, you take everyone else to Hogwarts, _now!"_ Grindelwald cried to Dumbledore. "I'll hold him off! We'll meet at The White Tomb in fifteen minutes!"

Immediately, people began apparating left and right. Landry had a very bad feeling about Grindelwald being the one to hold Voldemort off, but there was no time to protest.

"Are you ready?" Miles asked his friends, through the chaos.

"What about the tent and all of our supplies?" remembered Scorpius.

"I'll get it, you children leave! _Now!_" Dumbledore yelled, running off towards the tent.

"You heard him! Let's go!" Albus said.

"Yes. See you at the Shrieking Shack. Let's go straight to McGonagall's office from there, we have to warn her right away!" Landry replied.

"Sounds good," Miles said, and, with a wave of his wand, he disappeared.

Landry closed her eyes, bracing for the nauseating sensation that comes along with apparating. She waved her wand, and the world around her dissolved.

—

Grindelwald couldn't help but laugh as he walked toward Voldemort. The bald, noseless man was stumbling around in a very un-Voldemort-like way, trying to locate the outer wall of the force field. Grindelwald knew exactly why Voldemort was here, of course. He chuckled to himself at Voldemort's foolishness. He was even more daft than Grindelwald had originally thought. Grindelwald positioned himself to a spot right in front of the unsuspecting Voldemort, then stepped out from under the force field. "Hello, my Lord," he said to Voldemort, deciding to keep up his act for just a moment longer.

"Ah, Grindelwald. I was hoping I'd find you,' Voldemort said. "It seems that my very important prisoners have gone missing, and I suspect that Dumbledore and his little minions are behind it. Of course, since you are meant to be with them, I thought I'd try and locate you, to ask you _why you defied me."_

"I'm not sure I understand, my Lord. I was merely doing as you ordered and gaining their trust by helping them do what they wanted to accomplish," Grindelwald said, feigning confusion.

"I'm sure there were other ways you could have done that, Grindelwald," Voldemort said through gritted teeth.

Grindelwald knew that the jig was up now. There was no point in faking alliance anymore. He began to laugh. It was a deep, wicked laugh, straight from his core. Voldemort sneered. "I knew it! I should not have trusted you, traitor!" he cried.

"It really was quite foolish, Tom," Grindelwald said.

Voldemort gasped. "How dare you call me that filthy name! I'm going to send you back to Hell where you belong!" he shrieked, whipping the resurrection stone out of his robes. Turning it four times in his hand, he cried, "Avada Kedavra!"

"Not today, you won't," Grindelwald said, blocking the spell with ease.

"I seem to have underestimated you, Grindelwald," Voldemort said.

"Indeed you have. We are both great Wizards, there is no denying. But we also both seek ultimate power. We cannot share it," said Grindelwald.

"On that I agree with you. What do you propose?" Voldemort asked, intrigued.

"You have the stone, and I will soon have the Elder wand. I propose that whoever can obtain the Cloak of Invisibility first shall be named the sole Dark Lord, and whoever loses will have to go back to the Spirit Realm, free and clear," Grindelwald said.

"I see. I accept your proposal. You are right, there is no point in dueling with our wands, for we already know that we are both skilled in that area. This shall be a battle of cunningness. To see who has the superior mind. Whoever loses will concede," agreed Voldemort.

"Then it is settled. I will see you when all is said and done," Grindelwald said. With that, he disapparated, leaving Voldemort alone in the garden, mentally plotting his strategy.


	30. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

It was very dark and dusty in the Shrieking Shack. Nobody had been there for years, and Landry felt quite lucky to have even been able to apparate there successfully, as she only knew what it looked like from photographs. All of the resurrected escapees were already there, and Landry's friends were starting to pop up now as well. Miles suddenly appeared right next to Landry, and she immediately engulfed him in a hug. There was an odd aura around the room, and Landry knew that her boyfriend, and everyone else, could feel it too. It felt like the calm before the storm.

"It will be okay," Miles said, sensing his girlfriend's fear.

"I hope so. It's just…" Landry sighed.

"What is it, Love?" Miles asked.

Landry took a deep breath. "I've spent the last six and a half years of my life reading about the past. All these terrible things that happened. All these battles that were fought, all the lives that were lost…they were things of the past. They were like fairytales, you know? Stories. Nothing more than horror stories, fiction, fantasy. I never thought of it as real. Back in first year, Gen and I would pretend that we were fighting Voldemort. We would pretend we were in the battle of Hogwarts, fighting and defeating Death Eaters. We would write ourselves into history for a few hours, imaginarily accomplishing these things that we thought were so amazing. But now it's not a game anymore. It's real. And it's not so amazing. It's not this glamorous, empowering adventure. It's really freaking scary. It makes me wish I was still pretending. But I'm not, this is it, this is what's happening. This is what I've been given. And I figure there's a reason for that. I don't know that reason yet, and I may never. But that's not important, honestly. I'm doing it because I can't do anything else. I'm here, writing myself into history, for real this time. This is my story. Our story. And over my dead body will it not have a happy ending."

The room was silent. Landry looked around, and suddenly noticed that everyone was staring at her. She had not realized how loudly she had been talking. Feeling very unsure of what to do, Landry laughed nervously. That was when the room erupted into cheers. Everyone from Lily Potter, to Fred Weasley, to Mad-Eye Moody was clapping for her. Even Dumbledore, who had just quietly apparated into the shack halfway through Landry's monologue, let out a whistle. Landry smiled with extreme appreciation. But now was not the time for a sappy moment. Voldemort was after them, and Landry was certain that Hogwarts would be one of his first guesses as to where they went.

"Alright, so, I realize I'm just a teenage girl and you're all legends, but I think I have an idea for how we should proceed," Landry said.

"The floor is yours," James replied.

"Thank you," said Landry. "So I figured that Albus, Scorpius, and Genevieve can lead all of you to the Room of Requirement, since I'm pretty sure it'll be the best place to hide such a large number of resurrected war heroes. Meanwhile, Dumbledore will go to meet Grindelwald at his grave, and Miles and I will go get the headmistress, Professor McGonagall."

"Ah, old Minnie McGee's still around? Figures," Sirius laughed.

"Uh…right…so…we should probably get going, then," continued Landry.

"Lead the way, little Ravenclaw," Tonks said to Landry with a smile.

"Sorry, but I don't know the way. I've never been to the Shrieking Shack before," Landry apologized.

"I'll lead the way, then," said Remus. "I've been here plenty of times."

"Yeah, you could say this house was built for you, Moony," Sirius chuckled. Remus rolled his eyes. He led them out of the room they were in, and down some stairs, until they got to a hallway. As they walked down it, it became less of a hallway and more of a tunnel, with tree roots sticking out from the ceiling and walls. They soon came to a halt in front of a silver, shimmery wall. Remus took out the wand that Dumbledore had given him and tapped it to the force field. "Spinach soup," he said, handing the wand to Sirius before walking through. Everyone followed suit, one by one, with all of the escaped prisoners using the single wand to let themselves through. Soon they had all made it through, so they continued walking. Eventually, a light was visible, coming from wherever the tunnel ended. The path started ascending, but when they got to where the first light of dawn was shining through, Remus stopped in his tracks.

"How are we going to do this? We don't have anyone small enough to go stop the tree from trying to kill us," Remus realized.

"What are you talking about?" Genevieve asked.

"The Whomping Willow protects the entrance to the Shack," James explained. "I'm sure you're familiar with the Willow."

"Yeah, of course," Scorpius said.

"Well, there's a specific knot on the tree that you press to get it to temporarily freeze. Only, the person who used to do that for us isn't here. He was an animagus, like Sirius and I are. He could turn into a rat, so he was small enough to dodge the thrashing branches and get to the knot," James explained.

"What are we going to do?" Miles asked.

"Are you kidding me? You guys are all so daft! Are you wizards, or not? Just use magic to press the knot! Idiots," Pippa said with exasperation.

"I like this kid," said Fred.

After Remus pointed it out to her, Pippa used her wand to levitate a rock up to the knot. She then shot the rock straight at the knot, hitting it easily. The tree immediately froze, allowing everyone to climb out of the tunnel. Gasps were heard from among those who had been resurrected as the Hogwarts castle came into view. Almost all of them had attended Hogwarts themselves, and the memories from their youth were now flooding back into their minds. This was the moment that it really hit them that their hearts were beating once more.

Walking, uncovered, in the bright light of morning, left Landry feeling quite vulnerable, even under the cover of the force field. Thankfully, the group made it safely to the castle. This was where Miles and Landry turned away from the rest of the group, walking as quickly as possible towards McGonagall's office, while the rest of the group headed towards the Room of Requirement. Dumbledore went in the opposite direction from everyone else, starting his walk to his own, literal, tomb.

Landry and Miles finally reached the griffin statue that guarded the entrance to the Headmistress's office. Luckily, Miles remembered the password that McGonagall has used to let them in last time they had come to her office. "Sherbet lemon!" he exclaimed. The griffin sprang to life, revealing a staircase that led up to a large wooden door. Miles and Landry both began to pound furiously on the door, until it finally swung open. McGonagall herself stood in front of them, with an odd look that combined both anger and relief on her face. Landry was equally sure that McGonagall was about to expel them as she was that McGonagall was about to hug them.

"I…I'm not even going to start right now, for I'm sure you have a better reason for coming to my office at six in the morning than to get yourself punished," McGonagall said.

"Oh, trust us, we do," replied Landry. "I can't really put the situation into words, though. This is something you just have to see to believe."

McGonagall was intrigued. "Very well," she said, stepping out of her office and closing the door behind her. "Lead the way, Miss Beckett."

Landry and Miles led McGonagall to the spot where the Room of Requirement was housed. When the arrived, Landry turned to McGonagall. "Before we go in, I just need to warn you. This is most likely going to be the most shocking thing you've ever seen," she warned her teacher.

"Yes. And, to answer the question you're bound to ask, it is, in fact, real," Miles added on.

"Get on with it, then," McGonagall said. "Don't leave me in suspense."

Landry took a deep breath and closed her eyes, imagining the room she needed to enter. The door appeared on the wall. Miles slowly opened it, revealing the room filled with the resurrected Order of the Phoenix to McGonagall.

Her jaw dropped, and for once in her life, McGonagall had no words.

"As you can see, Voldemort has made good use of that stone," Landry explained, as she watched her teary professor walk slowly towards the group of her old students and friends.

"Long time, no see, Professor," said James Potter, struggling in his attempt not to cry. At the sound of James's voice, McGonagall dissolved into tears completely, throwing her arms around him, and falling to her knees. She remained there for a very long time, until she truly had cried all her tears. Slowly, McGonagall stood up again, wiping her cheeks. She took out her wand, whispered something into it, then extended it in her hand and cried, "Expecto patronum!"

A silver cat sprang from her wand, dashing once around the room before exiting it, and running out of sight.

"What was that for, Professor?" Scorpius asked her.

"I just sent a message to the Minister, telling her to bring her entire extended family here immediately. I sense there are some others besides myself who would like to become reacquainted with our guests," McGonagall explained.

"Would you like Scorpius and I to go get Professor Longbottom?" Albus asked, eyeing Neville's parents.

"I believe that's an excellent idea," replied McGonagall. "Please wake your sister, too, Albus."

Albus and Scorpius set off to find their Herbology professor, while McGonagall scanned over all of the dearly departed faces once more. That was when she realized that someone was missing. "Where's Dumbledore?" she asked, suddenly sounding very fearful.

"Oh my gosh, I nearly forgot!" Landry cried. "It's a really long story, but we have to get down to the White Tomb straight away!" Landry had decided it was best not to get into another argument with Dumbledore in the shack, but there was no way that she was letting him meet Grindelwald alone.

McGonagall nodded in response to Landry's statement, and she, Miles, and Landry started off, leaving Genevieve and Pippa in charge of the Order. They ran through the castle and across the grounds as quickly as they could.

—

It had shaped up to be a very cloudy day, so dark that it almost felt like night. There was a strong wind, and a light drizzle of rain was falling down. Dumbledore slicked his long auburn hair back with rain so it would stop blowing in his face.

He had decided that it was a very odd feeling, walking to his own tomb. Dumbledore knew that the decomposed body of his elderly self was lying inside the white marble box that was coming into view. The bridge across the Black Lake seemed very long, but finally, he stepped off of it and onto the island in the center of the lake that housed the White Tomb. Grindelwald was already there, back to Dumbledore, staring at the tomb. Dumbledore cleared his throat, so as not to startle Grindelwald. The blond turned around at the noise. "Oh, Albus! I'm so relieved that you are safe!" gasped Grindelwald, running to Dumbledore and pecking him on the cheek. Dumbledore chuckled.

"You're relieved to see me? Gellert, you're the one who ran off to confront Voldemort," Dumbledore pointed out.

"That is true," Grindelwald replied.

"Were you able to hold him off?" Dumbledore asked, curiously.

"Well, I'm here, aren't I?" said Grindelwald, avoiding eye contact.

"Indeed, you are," answered Dumbledore.

"So, what do you say, Albus?" Shall we retrieve your rightful wand?" Grindelwald asked.

"That is why we are, is it not?" Dumbledore said.

"You do the honors, Albus," Grindelwald said, gesturing to the tomb.

Dumbledore walked up to the marble structure, tracing his hand along the top. Suddenly, words magically appeared in the stone.

_"A price must be paid to get inside, for more than bones in here I hide."_

"It wants my blood," Dumbledore figured out, taking out his borrowed wand. He uttered a spell and sliced his wand across his palm, leaving a cut. He placed his palm on the lid of the tomb. It, slowly, began to rise. Soon, the skeleton of the original body of Albus Dumbledore came into view. Laying on top of it was the Elder Wand. Grindelwald grinned at the sight of it. He began to reach for it, but Dumbledore's non-injured hand blocked him. "What are you doing, Gellert?" Dumbledore asked, calmly.

"I'm getting your wand, Albus," he said.

"Are you sure about that, Gellert? Or are you taking it for yourself? Or maybe for Voldemort?" Dumbledore guessed.

Grindelwald sneered, his cover finally broken. "You knew," he spat.

"You clearly do not know me very well anymore, Gellert," Dumbledore said.

"Why do you go through all of this, then, Albus? Why didn't you just send me off at the start?" Grindelwald asked, angrily.

"Because, if I had, we would've had Death Eaters coming after us. With you there, I knew they wouldn't harm us. At first I thought that that was because they knew they were no match for you. But whenever you said you would go and hold Voldemort off, I realized it was because their master had ordered them not to harm you," explained Dumbledore.

"Very clever, Albus. But if you did not want me to claim the wand, you shouldn't have opened the tomb," Grindelwald smirked.

"I needed to get the wand so that neither you, nor Voldemort, could retrieve it," Dumbledore said. "And, again, that is much easier to do without you or Voldemort trying to stop me."

"Ah, but alas, you've made a mistake. Don't you think that there is a reason why Voldemort wanted me to work with you?" pointed out Grindelwald.

Dumbledore's face fell. He had been so caught up in fooling Grindelwald into thinking his plan was working that he had never stopped to think about why he was doing it.

Grindelwald chuckled. "Harry Potter placed a spell on your grave so that only you would be able to open it. Nobody else's blood would have worked. Voldemort recruited me to trick you into claiming it for him. And that is what I have done. Only, I've decided I'll be keeping it for myself." he explained.

"I have defeated you once, I can do it again," Dumbledore warned.

"Well then, let us see if that is true," Grindelwald say, pulling out his wand. "Avada Kedavra!" he cried. The spell hit Dumbledore straight on, but he did not fall. In fact, he seemed completely unharmed. "Of course," Grindelwald muttered angrily. "Neither of us can be killed without having the stone."

"Expelliarmus!" Dumbledore cried. Grindelwald blocked the spell easily.

"Stupefy!"

"Petrificus totalus!"

"Crucio!"

"Confundo!"

The two wizards dueled, blocking all of each other's spells. Colored sparks flew through the air, shooting from their wands as though they were water spouting from a fountain. The men who had once been in love were now at war once again, and Grindelwald was quite determined not to lose to Dumbledore for a second time. "Here we are again, Albus," shouted Grindelwald through the sound of their colliding spells. "It reminds me of our very first fight. Or don't you recall? I am referring to our squabble with Aberforth. The one that resulted in your sister's death."

Dumbledore twitched slightly, but otherwise kept his face straight and the grip on his wand strong.

"Don't you remember you sister, Albus? Your little sister, Ariana?"

"Expelliarmus!" shrieked Dumbledore. Grindelwald was not able to block the spell. His wand flew from his hand, landing in the dark waters of the Black Lake. Dumbledore walked towards Grindelwald, his wand pointed towards him. He opened his mouth, preparing to stun him. Grindelwald was completely unarmed. This was his chance. Grindelwald's face was stricken with terror. He knew that there was nothing he could do to stop Dumbledore now.

Dumbledore stood, staring at Grindelwald, the man he had once loved. Though he had been acting, feigning belief of Grindelwald's cover, spending the last few days with him had come at a price. Now, looking down at the terrified face of the love of his life, looking 17 again, the age they had been when they had met, he could not get the stunning spell to come out of his mouth. Grindelwald smirked. "Voldemort was right about one thing. Love is weakness."

Grindelwald punched Dumbledore hard in the face, and he collapse to the ground, unconscious. He stepped over Dumbledore, walking over to the open tomb. He grinned wickedly at the feeling of the Elder Wand in his hand. "Now to find Harry Potter and disarm him, so that this wand will once again answer to me. Then I'll be back to get my cloak! Spinach Soup!" he cried, and with that, he apparated.


	31. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Minerva McGonagall screamed at the sight of Albus Dumbledore's collapsed body. Despite her old age, she was still rather spritely, and the moment she saw him, she dashed to him.

"Albus!" she cried, horrified hoping with all hope that he was still alive. She shook him vigorously, until suddenly he coughed, sitting up slowly.

"Minerva," he greeted her.

"Oh Albus, thank goodness you're alright! I was afraid that you were…" McGonagall trailed off, not wanting to finish her sentence.

Dumbledore chuckled. "I'm just fine, Minerva. Though, since Death didn't seem to stop me before, I daresay I could overcome it again."

"Hey! That's my ancestor you're talking about!" Landry joked.

"Whatever do you mean, Miss Beckett?" asked McGonagall, confused.

"It's a long story," Miles said.

"And now is not the time to tell it. Minerva, Grindelwald has the wand. I think he's going after Harry," Dumbledore warned.

"Ha! I knew it! So those chains in the cave _were_ fake!" Landry cried, before she could realize that an 'I told you so' was not really appropriate in this moment.

"Indeed you did, Landry. As did I," Dumbledore smiled.

"What? But you were so insistent on Grindelwald being good!" questioned Landry.

"I had to make sure that Grindelwald thought that his plan was working. I couldn't take any risks," explained Dumbledore.

"That makes sense," Miles said. "But, if you don't mind me asking…what in Merlin's name happened here?"

Dumbledore's face grew grim. "I opened the tomb so that I could retrieve the wand, so as to prevent either Grindelwald, or Voldemort, from claiming it. But there was something I did not anticipate. It seems that Harry put a spell on the tomb that only my blood could break. That is why Voldemort and Grindelwald worked together to deceive me. Only, Grindelwald betrayed Voldemort and took the wand for himself. As I said before, I suspect he's now gone off to find Harry."

"Albus, are you sure you're alright? What spell caused this?" she questioned, gesturing to Dumbledore's black eye.

"It was no spell, Minerva. It seems that, along with my body, I have also regained the carelessness of my younger self," Dumbledore sighed.

"Whatever do you mean?" asked McGonagall.

"Although I was merely pretending to trust Gellert over the past couple of days, I did not put my guard up high enough. Age old emotions snuck up on me, and when it came down to it, I could not bring myself to stun him," Dumbledore explained bitterly.

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Dumbledore," Landry comforted. "It must be really hard, even after all this time."

"He is the only person I've ever been in love with," Dumbledore said wistfully. Landry was surprised at this rare moment of vulnerability from him. She was not sure if it had to do with all his regained 17-year-old hormones, or rather, the fact that he had just been punched very hard in the face. Either way, he was clearly in more pain over it then he would ever let on.

"What should we do?" asked Miles.

"Oh, yeah," Landry said, remembering the task at hand.

"I assume you're aware of our…guests?" McGonagall asked Dumbledore.

"Ah, so you've been reacquainted with them. Excellent," Dumbledore said. This seemed to cheer him up, for he cracked a small smile.

"Yes, I most certainly have. I've sent for Harry, and his entire family as well. I…I can barely believe it, Albus. Harry is…he's going to meet James and Lily," said McGonagall, tearing up again.

"Indeed he is, Minerva," Dumbledore replied. He tried to stand up, but fell back down, placing a hand tenderly to his eye.

"We should get you to Madame Pomfrey, Sir," Landry said, after both she and Miles rushed over to help Dumbledore.

"I feel that that may be wise," Dumbledore chuckled.

With Miles and Landry helping Dumbledore along, McGonagall led them back towards the castle. When they finally reached the entry hall, they ran into Hermione Granger and all of the extended Weasley family. Hermione spotted McGonagall first, and hurriedly walked up to her, with her family trailing behind. "We're here, Professor. Now, would you kindly tell me why?" Hermione questioned.

McGonagall shot a look at Landry, not sure how she should respond. Landry and Miles handed Dumbledore off to McGonagall.

"I promise this will be well worth it, Minister," Landry said.

"Alright, then. What is it?" Hermione asked.

"I can't really explain it," explained Landry.

"Well, just show us, then," Harry Potter suggested.

"Excellent idea, Auror Potter," Landry laughed nervously.

"Just…enjoy this, Harry," McGonagall said, with tears in her eyes.

"Okay?" Harry said, confused.

Landry led Harry, Hermione, and the rest of their family to the Room of Requirement. When they arrived, Albus and Scorpius were just walking up to the blank wall that concealed the Room as well. A very sleepy looking Neville Longbottom, still wearing his bathrobe, and a very excited Lily Potter, grew even more confused at the sight of the Weasley-Granger and Potter families. "Harry? What's going on? Your son and his boyfriend just came to my _bedroom_ and dragged me out of bed, but they wouldn't say why," said Neville.

"Sorry, Mate. I'm as confused as you are," Harry apologized.

"Daddy? What are you doing here?" Lily asked. "Mom, James, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle George…_everyone…_what the hel…_heck._"

"Just…you'll see. This will be rather shocking, just to warn you," Scorpius said excitedly.

The door to the Room of Requirement appeared on the wall, and Landry slowly opened it. The group stepped inside.

Harry's jaw dropped. Molly Weasley screamed. Teddy Lupin grinned. George Weasley immediately began to sob.

"Harry," Harry's mother said.

"Son," Harry's father said.

Harry took of his glasses, polished them using the bottom of his shirt, then replaced them. He could not believe what he was seeing. But sure enough, there they were. Sirius was there, too, and Remus. In fact, everyone from the Order was there, even a few faces he barely recognized from photographs.

There was a long silence. Nobody in the room could quite think of what to say. It was Fred Weasley who broke the silence. "Heya, Georgie. Man, you've gotten old. I guess Mum will finally be able to tell us apart."

George sobbed, running towards his twin and tackling him to the ground with a hug. Molly Weasley waddled over to them as fast as her aging joints would carry her, and joined them.

Teddy Lupin, still grinning, walked up to his parents. Sirius, who had been holding his husband's hand, let go as to allow Remus and Tonks to greet their son together.

"What's up? I'm Teddy. You probably know that, though," Teddy said.

"We certainly do," said Remus.

"Before we get on with all this sappy family stuff, I have to ask…what Hogwarts house are you in? Remus and I have had a bet going for years," Tonks said.

Teddy, being a metamorphagus like his mother, turned his hair yellow in response. "Hufflepuff," he said.

"HELL YEAH!" Tonks shrieked, jumping into the air.

"Yeah, I was in Hufflepuff. Head boy in seventh year," Teddy said proudly.

Remus smirked, turning to a flabbergasted Tonks. "Hell yeah," he said.

"Hey, so, I've just gotta ask…who is this giant black dog that's furiously rubbing against my leg?" Teddy asked, as Sirius, in his animagus form, sniffed Teddy thoroughly.

Remus sighed. "That's my husband," he explained.

"Oh, neat. You guys should meet my fiancé. Yo, Vic!" Teddy shouted across the room at a tall girl with long blonde hair.

Victoire Weasley walked over, smiling. "Hi, you must be Teddy's parents I'm Victoire Weasley, soon to be Victoire Lupin," she greeted them, latching on to her fiancé's arm.

"Welcome to the family," Tonks said.

Neville was standing to the side awkwardly, wondering why he had been called for. That was when he caught a glimpse of two very familiar faces wearing very unfamiliar expressions. His eyes widened. Pushing his way through the crowd of crying people, he made his way over to his parents. Neville had spent a lot of time with his parents, but they had tragically lost their memory and sanity when he was an infant. Did he dare hope that maybe they would know him?

"Neville!" cried Alice Longbottom. "Oh, my boy, come here!"

"You…you know who I am?" Neville asked, not daring to believe it.

"I never forgot you," she replied. The three Longbottoms shared a hug.

"Where's your wife and daughter?" Frank Longbottom asked.

"You remember them, too?" Neville asked, surprised.

"I remember bits and pieces from when we were staying at St. Mungo's, and that includes…Hannah and…Lacey?" Frank questioned.

"Neicy," Neville corrected. "I'll send for them right away."

"Wonderful! I'd love to thank them for taking care of you," Alice smiled.

During all of the commotion, Harry and his parents had stood, silent, just staring at each other. The silence, however, spoke volumes. It was Lily who finally spoke. "You look just like your father," she said, looking from Harry, to James, then back to Harry.

"Hey! I don't look nearly that old!" James protested. Harry thought that it was quite strange indeed to be older than your own parents. James and Lily had been killed when they were 21, while Harry had celebrated his 43rd birthday the past summer. It had never fully hit him before that moment that he had already lived more than twice the amount of life that his parents had gotten.

Amongst all the emotional reunions, nobody noticed when McGonagall and Dumbledore entered the room. Dumbledore's black eye had been healed by Madame Pomfrey, and he felt ready for what was to come. McGonagall, blinking back tears, cleared her throat. "I'm sorry to interrupt," she said, loudly, silencing the room. "But we do, unfortunately, have a war at hand. We believe that Voldemort and Grindelwald are attempting to claim the Hallows. If that is true, we must prepare for battle. The third Hallow, the Cloak of Invisibility, is here in the castle. It is only a matter of time before they come for it," she explained.

"My being here is also not going to help keep them away," Harry pointed out.

"Most certainly not," Dumbledore agreed.

"Very well, then. Myself and the other teachers will secure the castle. We'll send everyone who is under the age of 17, and those who don't want to fight, to the Slytherin dormitory. They will be safest there," McGonagall said.

"I'm having a severe case of déjà vu," mumbled Ron Weasley. It was that statement that made Landry realize that this whole situation was probably hitting very close to home for those who had fought in the first Battle of Hogwarts. Everyone stood in solemn silence for a minute, taking a moment to take in the fact that this was actually happening.

Pippa rolled her eyes. "Well, come on! Don't just stand there! Get to it!"

As various people began shouting orders, the room broke into complete chaos. The crowd began dispersing out of the room, heading out to various parts of the castle to prepare for the approaching war. Pippa made a run for the door, but Landry stopped her.

"You heard what McGonagall said, Pip. You have to go to the Slytherin dorms with the rest of the first years," Landry told her sister.

Pippa raised her eyebrows. "You really, truly, think I'm going to do that, Landry? Have you met me? There's no point in trying to stop me from fighting. I'm going to fight no matter what you say."

Landry bit her lip in thought. She knew that Pippa was right. And, to be honest, Landry thought that she had more than proven her capabilities. "Alright. But _be careful_, Pippa," Landry gave in.

"I will!" called Pippa as she dashed out the door.

It was then that Landry remembered her newly discovered lineage. She looked around, searching desperately for Dumbledore. She quickly found him, and dashed over to him. "Mr. Dumbledore! Thank goodness you haven't left yet," she said, with a sigh of relief.

"You're concerned about the prophecy," guessed Dumbledore. Landry nodded.

"I just…I wanted to know what I should do. What exactly am I expected to be, Sir?" she asked.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Do you recall the last sentence of the prophecy, Landry?" he asked.

"Not really, Sir," admitted Landry.

"Only you have the power to realign the realms and destroy the Hallows, Landry," Dumbledore said.

"Yeah, and 'right the wrong the imbalances caused,' whatever the heck that means! How do you expect me to do that? I'm a tiny seventeen year old with the physical strength of a stunned flobberworm. How am I supposed to do all of that?" Landry asked, growing very worried.

"I don't know. But that isn't important," said Dumbledore.

"What do you mean? It seems pretty bloody important to me!" Landry panicked.

Dumbledore smiled a small smile. "It's already been prophesied, Landry. It's written in the stars. You don't have to know how you're going to do it, because you already know that you will. Don't waste your time worrying about whether or not you think you can. Because the Universe already knows you can."

Landry took a deep breath. She wasn't entirely sure if she believed him, but he was right that she did not have any time to waste. "Thank you, Sir," Landry said, gratefully. "I'll try."

Landry walked back across the room, towards Miles, Albus, Scorpius, and Genevieve, who had waited for her. "Let's do this thing," Landry said to them, not stopping before walking out the door.


	32. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Landry felt, simultaneously, on top of the world and more terrified than she had ever been before. Running through Hogwarts with her best friends, amongst the chaos, dressed in her still dirt-covered clothes from her camping excursion made her feel, for lack of a better word, 'cool.' This did not detract from the onsetting horror of the quickly approaching war. This was real, this was _war._ People die in war. Landry grabbed her boyfriend's hand and squeezed it tight. She did not know what she would do if she lost him, nor was she sure that it was past her to abuse the Resurrection Stone if any of her friends were to get hurt. Dumbledore's reassurance had not done much for Landry. In fact, it made her start to worry even more. His speech had only reminded her of her newfound lineage. In every story she had ever heard about Death, he had never been depicted as the protagonist. He was always more of a neutral character, if not entirely bad. Landry had always tried her hardest to be the best person she could be. But what if, with this prophecy coming true, that would not be enough? What if there was a side of her she did not yet know? Surely her patronus could not be the only thing she had to show for being the ancestor of Death. Landry knew she was probably just being her usual, paranoid self. She tried her best to brush those worries from her mind for the time being. There were a lot more things she had to worry about, after all.

Suddenly, Landry felt a vibration in her pocket. It was her glass stone, which she had quite forgotten about. She tapped it, and Dumbledore's face appeared. "Am I doing this correctly?" he asked, putting the stone very close to his eye.

"Yes, Sir, you're doing just fine," Landry replied.

"Excellent. I wanted to inform you that the Aurors have arrived, and the younger students have all been accounted for in the Slytherin dorms. The Headmistress would like all of the students who have chosen to fight to gather in the Great Hall," Dumbledore explained.

"Got it. Just wondering, though…why are you telling me all this?" asked Landry.

Dumbledore sighed wistfully. "Once I made the mistake of withholding crucial information from someone quite like you. I grew to love them like they were my own child, something I had not originally anticipated. I am quite remorseful of how I treated them. I wanted to protect them, to make sure they knew exactly what they needed to know, but nothing more, so that they could do what was needed of them at the proper times. I did not, however, account for their own feelings, or accept the fact that I loved them. There is no excuse for my actions, nor can I go back and undo them."

Albus interrupted. "Messing with time is _never _a good idea," he said.

"I wholeheartedly agree," Scorpius said, nodding furiously.

Dumbledore pursed his lips. "What I can do is try to do things differently with you, Landry. I have told you everything I know, and will continue to do so. I'm afraid that I don't know very much, though. I cannot tell you how you're meant to unmake the Hallows, but I promise that, if I do figure it out, I will tell you."

Landry bit her lip. "You're comparing me to Harry Potter, aren't you, Sir?"

"Indeed, Landry. You have been faced with being front and center in a war you never asked for. I don't know what old Professor Binns has been teaching you in History of Magic, but that seems a great deal like what Harry went through," Dumbledore pointed out.

"As much as I absolutely adore talking about how amazing my father is, shouldn't we be going to the Great Hall?" Albus asked, with the same slight hint of jealousy in his voice that often came to surface when people talked up his dad's great achievements.

"Right you are, Albus," Dumbledore said. "I shall let you go. Now, how do I turn this thing off?"

"I'll do it, Sir," said Landry. She ended the stone's 'call,' and the five teenagers headed towards the Great Hall. Almost all of the Hogwarts students over the age of 17 were there, huddled into clumps of friend groups, talking in hushed voices amongst themselves. Genevieve quickly spotted her Quidditch team, and excused herself to go attempt to fill them in. Albus, Scorpius, Landry, and Miles proceeded to the front of the Hall, where McGonagall was standing alongside all of the teachers, Aurors, resurrected people, and the extended Weasley family. Upon spotting them, McGonagall breathed a sigh of relief. She whipped out her wand and shot a cluster of red sparks into the air, so as to silence the room. This worked very well, and soon the Great Hall was completely quiet. McGonagall opened her mouth to begin explaining the situation, but she was interrupted when the large doors to the hall swung open with a crash. A tall man with pale skin and long, white blonde hair came strutting into the room. He was dressed in very expensive looking black robes, and was clearly extremely annoyed. The man marched right up to the front of the room, to where McGonagall was standing.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said. "I would have been here on time if someone were to have bothered to, I don't know, tell me that the two darkest Wizards of all time had been resurrected. Luckily, Potter finally had the thought to owl me."

"Hello, Draco," said Harry.

"Hey, Dad," Scorpius said nervously.

"Hello, Scorpius. Is there anything you'd like to tell me?" Draco asked his son.

The little color that was in Scorpius's face disappeared. How had his father found out about him and Albus being together?

Draco continued, "Like, I don't know, maybe that you _ran away from school _to confront_ Lord Voldemort?"_

Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief. He had not been outed to his dad after all. Scorpius was, of course, very happy to be dating Albus. He had no problems with sharing this fact with anyone. Anyone, that is, except his father. He was not sure how his strict, pureblood, Malfoy father would react to his being bisexual. Scorpius's heart ached for his late mother's presence. He knew she would have accepted him. "Sorry, Dad," he apologized. "I just…forgot, I guess."

Draco sighed, but his expression softened. He loved his son very much, and did not like that he had made him feel so nervous. "It's alright," Draco replied. Scorpius gave him a small smile, but still looked very nervous. Draco was about to ask his son what was bothering him, but did not get the chance before McGonagall began her speech.

"I'm not going to lie to you, children," she began. "Obviously you all have some idea of what's going on right now, so I suppose I'll just cut to the chase. We have very good reason to believe that Lord Voldemort and/or Gellert Grindelwald will be executing an attack on the school very soon. You students have chosen to fight against them, if that becomes necessary. Know that you may go back on that decision at any time. If you decide that you no longer wish to fight, you should immediately go to the Slytherin common room. For those who do not know where it is, the portrait entrance is located near your Potions classroom. Simply continue down that hallway and take a right when you reach the end. You will find a portrait of a short man in purple robes. Tell him the password, "basilisk," and he will allow you entry. Does everyone understand this?"

There was a general nodding of heads from around the hall. A couple of scared looking students discreetly left the room, having reconsidered their decision to fight. Landry understood their fear, of course. She was utterly terrified, too. But she still could not understand how they were morally able to just stand by and wait, in suspense, while this was all going on. Landry thought that it would probably make her explode if she had to just sit, doing nothing, while her peers fought for the Wizarding World. This was, of course, partially fueled by jealousy. If this had happened only a few months prior to now, Landry probably would have been one of the students down in the Slytherin dorms. But things had changed. Alongside Landry's fated involvement in this whole situation, what with the prophecy of her finding the stone, and of course her being the one who had brought Grindelwald back in the first place, her morals, and the amount she cared for others, had changed greatly during the first half of her seventh year. The Landry that had written a contract to sign off on the fate of one of her best friends, who took only her own infatuated emotions into account, was gone, or rather, evolved. The girl that didn't even acknowledge her best friend's very first Quidditch match, but rather used it as a ploy to get her crush to go out with her, was forever altered. Landry had grown up, there was no denying it. Looking back at her old self made Landry feel ashamed, at first. She had been very selfish. But she also knew that, without that past version of herself, she would not be who she had become. Landry thought she quite liked who she had become, though she was still working on coming to terms with being the descendant of Death. She still was incredibly unclear on what exactly that entailed. And that was okay, because Landry had hope that she would figure it out.

"The castle has been secured to the best of our ability, but I want to make it very clear that this will absolutely _not_ keep out either dark wizard indefinitely," explained McGonagall.

"So that's it? We just have to wait here, not knowing when we're going to be attacked?" asked a Slytherin girl.

"Or what to do when we are," a Gryffindor boy added on.

"Yeah, are we just going to go into battle with no plan?" Sirius Black questioned.

After shooting a glare at Sirius, McGonagall turned to Dumbledore, whispering something in his ear. Dumbledore thought for a moment, then replied to her. Both of them then turned to look at Landry. "Landry, do you have any ideas?" Dumbledore asked.

"_Me?" _Landry gasped.

"Indeed," McGonagall said, encouragingly. "Dumbledore thought you may have an idea as to what we should do."

Landry was completely taken by surprise by this. Apparently Dumbledore was very convinced that this whole situation was really and truly meant to fall upon Landry. After regaining her composure, Landry thought for a moment. Suddenly, an idea came to her. She took a deep, nervous breath, and after reluctantly releasing her hand from its comforting hold on Miles's, she stepped up to the podium at the front of the hall, where McGonagall and Dumbledore stood, waiting. Landry glanced towards her peers, then back at Dumbledore and McGonagall. Dumbldore gave an encouraging smile. "Well, we almost certainly know that Voldemort and Grindelwald are after the cloak, right?" Landry asked.

"That is correct," McGonagall confirmed.

"Well, I was thinking we could set up a system to make the cloak harder for them to find. We can make a bunch of decoy cloaks, and guard them all with various traps. That way, our enemies will have to try them all, and each time be tricked into thinking it's the real cloak's hiding spot. Meanwhile, we'll move the real cloak around the school, so that it's always somewhere that Voldemort and Grindelwald aren't," Landry suggested.

"That sounds like an excellent idea, Miss Beckett," McGonagall said, with great approval. Dumbledore had an impressed twinkle in his eyes. "We'll split you all up into groups, each paired with a teacher or former Order members. The Aurors will be our front lines, they can buy us some time once the Death Eaters do arrive," McGonagall ordered.

The students immediately began splitting themselves into groups, and the teachers began dispersing, joining the different clusters of students. McGonagall helped all of the resurrected people find groups. Fred and George were paired with some Gryffindor boys, while Neville and his parents joined the rest of their small family, along with Victoire and Teddy, who were friends with Neville's daughter, Neicy, while at school. Remus and Sirius were sent to work with Landry's roomates, and Tonks and Mad-Eye Moody joined some Hufflepuffs. After everyone had been partnered up, Dumbledore started sending the groups off to various parts of the castle where they could set their traps, handing them each a decoy invisibility cloak that he had conjured up. McGonagall turned to Harry, who had just finished ordering his Aurors to their posts. "Harry, I think it's best if you don't join the rest of the Aurors on the front line. You know that both Voldemort and Grindelwald will be targeting you, Grindelwald to gain the alliance of the Elder wand, and Voldemort because…well…you know," she told him. Harry reluctantly agreed, and instead paired himself off with Landry and her friends to work on a trap. Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the Weasleys had joined other groups, but Draco was still standing, alone, in the corner of the Hall. Harry sighed, knowing what he had to do. Draco wasn't really so bad, anyways.

"Draco?" Harry questioned, approaching the blond man. Draco turned around to face Harry.

"What do you want, Potter?" Draco asked, his words not sounding as fierce as Harry would have expected.

"Well, I just thought you might like to help our sons and their friends with their trap," Harry suggested. Draco's expression softened.

"I guess I could," Draco said.


	33. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Landry, Miles, Genevieve, Albus, Scorpius, and Pippa were jogging down the halls of Hogwarts with Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. Lily and James Potter were there as well, having refused to leave Harry's side. Dumbledore had assigned them to the third floor corridor in which the Philosopher's stone had been kept in Harry's first year. He had assured them that it was now free of winged attack keys, murderous plants, and decomposing trolls. As the group entered the room with the trapdoor on the floor, that had once housed Fluffy, the three headed dog, Landry coughed. The room was coated in dust. It clearly had not been used since Harry's days at Hogwarts.

Scorpius quickly performed a dusting spell, which left the room clean, but, of course, still empty. "What should we do for our trap?" Genevieve asked.

"Well, we don't have any magical beasts," Harry chuckled.

"Actually, maybe we do," Miles corrected. "I'm pretty sure there's a boggart in the closet of our Transfiguration classroom. If nobody's already taken it to use in their trap, that is."

"That's a great idea, babe!" Landry complemented.

"Wasn't there some sort of giant chess set when you fought through this same series of traps?" Albus asked his dad.

"Yes, there was. Why?" Harry wondered.

"Well, we could enlarge Scorpius's chess set and enchant it. I doubt Voldemort is well practiced at Wizard's Chess. It would stump him for sure!" Albus exclaimed.

"That will work," Draco nodded in approval.

"James, how about you set up that one prank you once did on Severus? The one with the Forever Foam?" Lily suggested.

"Yes!" James replied, excitedly.

"I wish we could Bat-Bogey Hex them," Pippa sighed.

"Maybe we can," Landry said, an idea popping into her head. "What if we cast a spell, or a couple spells, and trap them in a room that's mirrored all around. That way, the spells will just bounce around until someone enters and gives them something to hit."

"That's so clever, Love," Miles said, squeezing Landry's hand.

"Then, at the end, we can hide the fake cloak in a riddlebox. Whoever is trying to open it will have to solve a riddle to get in. I know McGonagall has a couple in her office," said Harry.

Pippa, who was holding the cloak, looked confused. "This isn't a fake cloak, though. Dumbledore gave the the real one," she told them.

Landry sighed. "Of course he did," she said, slightly exasperated.

"He put me in charge of moving it around while everyone else is fighting. I'm so small that I can be easily covered by it, so nobody will be able to see me or the cloak. And obviously I've done an anti-accio charm on it, which Dumbledore did on all the decoys, so that the Death Eaters can't just conjure it up. Though I doubt any of them would be bright enough to think of that," Pippa explained.

Landry knew there was no point in arguing against her sister being responsible for such a dangerous task. Instead, she sent everyone off to get the various supplies. Once everyone had returned with what they needed, the group got to work on setting up all of the traps in each of their designated rooms along the passageway under the trapdoor. Genevieve "engorgio!"-ed the chess set, Miles and Landry locked the cloak in the riddlebox, and Harry wrestled the boggart into a conjured-up wardrobe. James and Lily used a spell of James's own invention to create a room full of 'un-poppable' bubble foam, so thick that nobody could see through it. Scorpius, Albus, Draco, and were working on hanging up the huge mirrors that they had transfigured out of pocket compacts. "We need to make sure this mirror is straight," Albus said, as he, Draco, and Scorpius levitated the mirror up and onto the wall.

"That will be no problem for me! I'm super good at all things straight! You could say that 'straight' is my middle name! Definitely no problems with anything involving straightness," Scorpius said, with a nervous laugh.

Both Albus and Draco looked at Scorpius with very odd expressions. Scorpius's ramble was, of course, a really terrible attempt at assuring that his sexuality was hidden from his father.

Once every trap had been set, everyone met in the room with the trapdoor (though not without quite a bit of difficulty getting out through their own traps). After making sure Pippa knew all of the counter spells to get through when she went to move the cloak, all of the group sat down for a break. They knew it would be the last rest they got for a while.

"This is sure to stop old Moldy-Voldy and Grindel-wart," Pippa said, admiring their handiwork.

"I sure hope so, Pip," Landry giggled.

"See what awesome things we can do with a little help from our friends?" Genevieve said. "Well, our friends, their dads, and a couple of resurrected grandparents."

"Yes, _friends!_ That's what we are! Well, except for Miles and Landry, who are dating. And Mr. and Mrs. Potter, who are married. But yup, the rest of us are great friends! Best friends, you might say," Scorpius rambled, again meriting a collection of odd looks. Landry quickly figured out that this strange statement was for the benefit of Scorpius's dad. She realized he must not know about Scorpius and Albus's relationship yet. Looking over at Albus, Landry noticed that he looked more than a little hurt.

All of a sudden, the castle shook. If Landry had not been sitting already, it would have knocked her over. "They're here," she said, fear striking her heart. Miles took her hand and pulled her closer to him. Lily did the same to James. Albus and Scorpius remained a few feet apart from each other.

"What are we supposed to do?" Genevieve asked.

"I don't know, but we should go see what exactly is happening out there. If we're going to fight, we should probably, you know, _fight," _Scorpius said.

"Yes, by all means, let's go. Scorpius seems very eager to _fight,_" Albus said, definitely not talking about the actual battle.

"Um…okay," said Harry, deciding it was best not to involve himself in whatever his son was referring to. "How about we go see if there's anyone who needs help finishing their traps?"

The group left the third floor corridor, and began looking around for anyone who may need their help. As they passed by a window, Landry caught a glimpse of what was going on outside. Pieces of the force field were slowly, but surely, breaking away. There was a giant swarm of Death Eaters flying around, spells shooting in all directions. She watched as an Auror was hit with a green blast of magic. The witch fell to the ground, motionless. She was dead. Landry didn't even notice the tear that fell down her cheek as she turned away, and continued walking.

As the group was making their way down a particularly long corridor, a girl with extremely curly red hair came running up to them. "Hey, Uncle Harry, my dad wanted me to tell you to give Voldemort this for him," said Rose Granger-Weasley, holding up a very crude hand sign. Harry quickly pushed her hand down and rolled his eyes.

"Okay, tell him I'll pass along the message," he said.

"Oh, also, Mom wanted me to tell you not to listen to Dad," Rose called back to him, as she disappeared around the corner.

Draco smirked at Scorpius. "That's the girl, right? The one you fancy?" he asked.

"Oh, um…" Scorpius trailed off. He no longer had romantic feelings for Rose, but if he told his dad as much, Scorpius was afraid that his dad may figure out that he was dating Albus, and not accept him…or worse.

"Yeah, that's her," Scorpius said.

"Hey, here's an idea," Albus said, angrily. "How about we _split up?_ You know, so that we can find more people who may need our help. I think it may be best for us to _break up._"

Tears fell down Albus's cheeks as he stormed away. "We should go see if he's okay," Genevieve said. She, Miles, and Landry ran after Albus.

Scorpius was sobbing, silently. Draco was equal parts confused and concerned. "Scorpius? What's going on?" he asked his son.

"I…I just can't," Scorpius said, running away in the opposite direction from where Albus and the others had gone.

"Leave it up to our sons to choose the middle of a bloody war to have relationship drama," Harry said, sadly.

"Wait…_relationship?_" Draco questioned, shocked.

"Oh, did you not know? Merlin, that explains a lot. Ah, I assumed you knew. Wow, some father I am, outing his own kid's relationship," Harry said, guiltily.

"So…Scorpius and Albus are…dating?" Draco asked.

"Yeah. Or, they were. I'm pretty sure what we just witnessed was their break up," Pippa explained.

"This is all my fault," Draco said. "I have to fix this."

He dashed off in the same direction Scorpius had gone.


	34. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Miles, Landry, and Genevieve found Albus in the Room of Requirement, sobbing into a pillow. All three of them ran to his side, sitting down on the beanbag chairs beside him.

"Albus? Are you okay?" Miles asked.

"Not really," Albus said with a sob. "I just broke up with my boyfriend."

"Albus, you know Scorpius hasn't told his dad about you yet, or even about his sexuality. He wasn't trying to hurt you, he was just trying-badly-to pretend that you and him were just friends, for his dad's benefit," Landry explained.

"Don't you think I know that? That's why I'm upset!" Albus snapped. "I told my dad without a problem. I told everyone! I didn't care at all what anyone thought! All I cared about was being with Scorpius. But I guess that he doesn't feel the same."

"I'm not going to promise anything, but I am almost completely certain that that isn't the case. I would bet my wand on it!" Genevieve comforted.

"How do you know that that's true?" asked Albus.

"I don't. And neither do you. But I know how you can find out," she replied.

Albus looked at her questioningly.

"You can ask him, silly!" said Genevieve.

"No! I can't!" Albus cried.

"Why not?" queried Landry. Albus had no reply.

"Exactly. Now, let's go find Scorpius," Miles said.

"I'm in love with him," revealed Albus. "I was going to tell him, but I never got the chance to."

Genevieve put a hand on his shoulder. "Well, here's your chance. I recommend you take it."

—

Draco Malfoy found his son, crying, in an empty alcove. He quietly stepped up, hoping to avoid startling his son. It broke his heart to see Scorpius like this, and to feel that he was responsible. Draco couldn't believe that he had misled his son so badly that he thought that he would not accept him for something so wonderful as loving someone. He knocked softly on the wall next to the alcove. Scorpius's head shot up, but collapsed back into his hands as he saw that it was his father, and not Albus, that had come to him. "Go away," Scorpius said.

"If you really want me to, I will. But I think maybe we should talk. I think-I hope-that it might help," said Draco.

Scorpius reluctantly scooted over on the bench he was sitting on to make room for his father. Draco sat, putting an arm tentatively around his son. "I want to tell you something," he said.

"What? That you hate me?" Scorpius mumbled.

"No, not at all. I love you, Scorpius. What I wanted to tell you is that I'm bisexual," said Draco.

Scorpius's head shot up. "What?" was all he could say.

"It's true. I had the most terrible crush on this boy all through my time at Hogwarts. In fact, I didn't think I had the potential to like girls at all until I met your mother," Draco revealed.

Scorpius couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had been worried for nothing. Not only was his dad not homophobic, but he was bi himself!

"Oh. In that case, I want to tell you something, too," Scorpius said.

"What is it?" Draco asked.

"I'm in love with Albus Potter," said Scorpius.

"I see. Well, I'm really not sure what you're doing sitting here with me, then. Go find him!" Draco encouraged.

"I don't think he wants to see me ever again. What I did out of nervousness to tell you about our relationship was really awful. I've probably…lost him forever," Scorpius said, breaking down in tears once again.

"I highly doubt that," said Draco.

"How would you know?" Scorpius asked.

"I don't. And neither do you. But I know how you can find out," Draco replied.

"How?" wondered Scorpius.

"By asking him," said Draco, simply.

"No! I can't!" cried Scorpius.

"Why not?" Draco asked. Scorpius had no reply.

"That's what I thought. Now, go find Albus!"

As soon as the pair stood up, they were immediately knocked back down by a sudden large quake of the castle. Scorpius ran to the nearest window. The force field was broken, and Death Eaters were spilling into the grounds. The battle had begun.

—

As Landry, Miles, Genevieve, and Albus were on their way to find Scorpius, the castle gave a sudden and enormous lurch. The four teenagers were knocked off their feet, and showered in small crumbles of the stone that the castle was made of. Landry was suddenly overwhelmed with fear, but there was no time to be afraid, for at that moment, two Death Eaters came flying through a nearby window, breaking the glass as though it was paper. They raised their wands at the teenagers, beginning to cast spells, but luckily, Genevieve acted even faster. "Stupefy!" she cried. The Death Eaters fell to the ground, unconscious. Their wands clattered across the cold, stone floor. Landry picked them up.

"They can't do much without these, now can they?" Landry said, sticking the wands into Hermione's bag.

"Oh, Merlin, where's Scorpius?" Albus yelled, in a voice that was equally terrified as it was frustrated. "I swear, if he's got a single scratch on him, I'll kill him!"

"Wouldn't that be completely hypocritical of you?" asked Miles. If you're concerned about him being injured, killing him is probably not the best…" Miles trailed off, realizing that this was not the time to correct Albus's obviously sarcastic logic.

"The stone! Let's call him," cried Landry, quickly pulling out her glass stone. She tapped the stone four times and thought of Scorpius. To the relief of everyone there, especially Albus, Scorpius's face soon appeared in the stone.

"Landry!" Scorpius exclaimed. "Where's Albus? Are you with him?"

"Yeah, he's right here," Landry replied.

"Thank Merlin. Where are you? I need to talk to him right away!" explained Scorpius.

"We're on the sixth floor near the Ancient Runes classroom," answered Landry.

"Don't move, we're on our way," Scorpius said. The stone went clear.

"I just realized, shouldn't someone find out what Dumbledore is doing?" Miles suggested.

"Yes, absolutely," agreed Landry.

"I'll do it. You stay here with Albus," Genevieve said.

"Okay. Be careful, Gen," Landry called after her friend as her curls bounced out of sight.

"Hey, Landry?" Miles asked, after a few minutes of listening quietly to the shouts, crashes, and screams echoing through the halls.

"Yes?" she questioned.

"I love you. I always will. Just thought I should tell you that in case things go badly," Miles said.

"I love you, too, Miles," Landry replied, squeezing her boyfriend's hand.

Albus sighed, wishing that he could say those same words to Scorpius. As the minutes ticked by, he was growing more and more concerned. Scorpius should certainly have been there by now.

—

Voldemort looked down upon the Hogwarts castle from the sky, where he was levitating himself in midair. A wicked grin spread across his face as he watched the force field crumble. He would not be losing again. Not to Dumbledore, Grindelwald, or Harry Potter, and certainly not to a scrawny teenage girl and her friends. "Still," he thought to himself, "The girl did manage to free all of my special guests, even if she had Grindelwald's help. Luckily, this is an easy fix. I'll just make sure she's occupied."

"Delphi!" Voldemort shouted, calling for his daughter. The girl quickly flew up to meet him.

"Yes, my Lord?" she asked, eager to please her father.

"Shall we test your new gift?" Voldemort asked. Delphi quickly pulled up her sleeve to reveal a tattoo on her forearm, a skull with a menacing snake slithering out from its mouth. Voldemort put his wand to it, and suddenly the already black ink seemed to grow even darker. Delphi's face scrunched up in pain.

Down inside the castle, a pale blond man had a similar pain on his own arm. "Dad? What's wrong?" Scorpius asked his father, seeing him wince in pain.

"Just ghosts from my past back to haunt me," Draco explained, rubbing his arm gingerly.

"Is it…" Scorpius trailed off, not knowing whether or not to finish his sentence, as his father normally hated nothing more than to talk about anything related to his time as a Death Eater.

"Yes," Draco said simply. As his dark mark burned once more, he rolled up his sleeve. His eyes grew wide. The tattoo, which had, in the past, only turned a darker shade of black, was now glowing bright red. Draco had never seen this happen before, but he did not think that there was any way that it could be good. Draco turned to his son, with fear in his eyes. "Scorpius, run. Find Albus. I'll be okay, but you need to get as far away from me as possible. Do you understand?"

But it was too late before Scorpius could even begin to answer. A mass of black smoke came crashing through a nearby window. As the smoke began to clear, two figures emerged from within it. "Hello, Draco," Voldemort said, calmly. "Well, now, it seems that we both have someone to introduce now, doesn't it? This is Delphini, my servant and spawn. And this must be your child, yes?"

Scorpius stepped bravely in front of his father, his wand pointed towards Voldemort, held in a sweaty, shaking hand. "I'm Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, son of Draco, and you won't get away with this! Our good triumphed over your evil before, and it can do it again!" he cried.

"Stand down, Scorpius," Draco warned.

"Don't worry, Draco, your child is perfectly safe with me. I did not track you down just for the fun of it," Voldemort said, chuckling eerily.

"_Track me?" _Draco questioned.

"Indeed," Voldemort replied. "Just a dash of rememberall smoke in your tattoo ink allows me to locate any Death Eater."

"I am _not _a Death Eater," Draco spat.

Voldemort laughed. "That mark on your arm says otherwise. No matter, you may go, I have no use for you. But I will be needing the boy."

"Over my dead body," Draco snarled.

"That can be arranged," said Voldemort.

"No!" shrieked Scorpius. "I'll go with you! Just don't hurt my dad, please!"

"Very well," Voldemort agreed, stowing his wand. He grabbed Scorpius by the wrist, and before Draco could say another word, Voldemort and Delphi had become puffs of black smoke once more, engulfing his son in it with them, and dragging him out through the window.


	35. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Draco Malfoy had never realized how slow of a runner he was. Though he was surely running faster than he had ever run before in his life, it still seemed to him that he was running in slow motion. As his heart pounded, all that run through his head was where he needed to go. "Sixth floor, Ancient Runes classroom. Sixth floor, Ancient Runes classroom. Sixth floor, Ancient Runes."

Draco sprinted over rubble, dodged flying spells, and jumped over fallen bodies. There was nothing he could do to help them, but he would have to die himself before he didn't try everything in his power to save his son. His precious Scorpius.

—

Astoria hadn't wanted to call their child Scorpius. She had thought it was too harsh for such a small, pale thing as the baby she held in her arms. But the moment she saw the expression on her husband's face, everything changed. This man, who had been hiding, resigning, and obeying orders his whole life, now bore a look that Astoria had never seen before. Draco looked entirely and completely peaceful as he looked at his newborn son. Astoria could not think of anyone who was more deserving of getting what he wanted. So the baby was called Scorpius Hyperion. Astoria closed her eyes and took a deep, tired breath. She had known going into her pregnancy that it was going to take her life. There was no cure for a blood curse. She was tired, so tired. It wasn't her time to go just yet, but she now knew that when it was, the two loves of her life, her husband and child, would have each other.

—

Tears streamed freely down Draco's face as he recalled his memories of the day Scorpius had been born. It had been the happiest day of his life. Astoria had sacrificed her life for Scorpius, and Draco would do the same in an instant if it was necessary. After what felt like an eternity, Draco finally rounded a corner on the sixth floor and saw his son's friends waiting anxiously at the end of the hall. All of their heads turned to look at him. "Voldemort took him. Voldemort has my Scorpius."

"No!" Albus shrieked.

"Merlin's beard, what do we do?" cried Genevieve.

"Okay, let's try not to panic," Miles said, trying his best to remain calm. "Does anyone have any ideas as to where Voldemort would've taken Scorpius?"

"Let's think…is there anywhere here that would securely hold a prisoner? That nobody else could get to?" Genevieve asked.

"Yes," said Landry, suddenly remembering something. "The Chamber of Secrets. Voldemort is the only one here who can speak parseltongue. It would be the safest place for someone he didn't want found."

"That's brilliant, Love!" said Miles.

"Let's go, now," Albus said, starting off down the hall.

"Wait, Albus! We don't even know where the entrance to the chamber is, and even if we did, we couldn't get into it. None of us speaks Parseltongue," Genevieve reminded him, sadly.

"That's true," said Draco. "But we know someone who can solve both of those problems."

"Who?" Miles asked.

"Harry Potter," Draco answered simply.

"Okay, then. Let's find my dad," Albus said.

"Where do you think he'd be?" Genevieve asked.

"Easy," Draco replied. "Just follow the sound of utter destruction and it'll lead us right to him."

Landry, Miles, Genevieve, Albus, and Draco ran through the castle, occasionally casting spells where it was needed. They were all calling out for Harry, attracting stares from the people around them who could spare a moment to give them. It was Albus who finally spotted his father's messy, black bun through the chaos. "Dad!" he called out. Harry quickly stunned the Death Eater he was dueling, and ran to meet his son.

"Albus! What's wrong?" he asked, seeing his son's distress on his face immediately.

"Voldemort has Scorpius," Landry said.

"That little bitch," said Harry.

"We think we may know where Scorpius is but we need your help," explained Landry.

"Alright. What do you need me to do?" Harry questioned.

"You'd better brush up on your Parseltongue, Potter. We're going to the Chamber of Secrets," explained Draco.

Harry looked at him questioningly. "Hiss, hiss," Draco said.

"Alright, let's go, then," Harry replied.

So they were off again, with Harry leading the way. When he stopped in front of a girls' bathroom, Landry thought for sure that Harry had lost his mind. "Why are we stopping here?" Genevieve asked, confused.

"This is it. The entrance to the Chamber," Harry explained.

"You've got to be kidding me," Draco said.

Suddenly, a squeal came from inside the bathroom. As everyone turned to look, a transparent, ghostly head came peeking out from inside. "He's not," said the ghostly girl.

"Myrtle. It's been a while," said Harry, with mild annoyance in his voice.

"Hello Harry," Myrtle said with a giggle. "Finally come back for me, have you?"

"We're here because we need to get into the Chamber," Harry replied.

"Very well, I'll leave you to your business then," Myrtle said mischievously. "Just remember that, if you die down there, my original offer still stands."

With that, Myrtle squealed and plunged down into her favorite toilet. Harry took a deep breath and walked towards the sink that didn't work, the sink with the snake carved into it. "Stand back," he said.

"You can do it, Dad. For Scorpius," Albus encouraged.

Harry closed his eyes, trying to remember what Parseltongue sounded like, what it felt like in his mouth. He drew in a shaky breath. "Open up," he said. Except it wasn't "Open up," it was some sort of strange hissing sound. The sink with the snake on it began to move, sinking down into the floor. Before anyone could react, Harry suddenly leapt into the large pipe that was now where the sink had been, and disappeared from sight.

Landry gasped. It was decided (against Draco's better judgement) that Harry knew what he was doing, and that they should follow him. "Who goes first?" Miles asked with a gulp.

Albus took a deep breath. "If Scorpius is down there, you'd best bet I'm going down there, too," he said, walking with determination towards the pipe. After stopping briefly on the edge, he gingerly lowered himself into the pipe, then hesitated a moment before letting go of the sides. His shriek grew softer as he slid farther and farther downwards. After Albus, Draco jumped, followed by Genevieve. Miles and Landry looked at each other. Landry really wished that she and Miles could jump together, but the pipe was only big enough for one person at a time.

"I'll go first," Landry offered, reluctantly.

"I'll jump right after you do," Miles reassured her.

Landry walked slowly to the pipe and looked down into it. She could not see the end of the pipe, only a funnel of darkness, which she knew led to danger. But for her best friend, she would gladly face Voldemort, or whatever was down there. Landry sat down on the edge of the pipe, with her legs dangling into it. Then she shut her eyes, and with a sharp inhale, she slid off of the edge and began to fall. She fell for what seemed like forever and no time at all, until she finally felt herself plop down onto something solid. She nervously opened her eyes, and to her relief, she saw Genevieve waiting for her. "Where's Albus?" Landry asked.

"He and Mr. Malfoy ran off to try and find Scorpius and Mr. Potter," she explained.

"Okay, as soon as Miles gets here we'll go after them," Landry replied. At that moment, Miles landed next to them.

"There he is now," Genevieve smirked.

As Miles stood up and brushed himself off, he looked up the pipe wistfully. Suddenly, a look of concern came across his face. "Guys…I just realized…how are we going to get back up there?" he asked.

"We could apparate?" Landry suggested.

"That may work, depending on what…condition…Scorpius is in," Miles said, his face paling.

"No. Don't say that. He's fine," Genevieve said sternly.

"I'm just saying that if he's injured, we probably shouldn't risk further injuring him by apparating," said Miles.

"Let's try not to think about that possibility for now, Love," Landry said, grabbing Miles's hand and squeezing it. "Which way did they go?" she asked Genevieve.

"That way," Genevieve replied, gesturing down a large pipe that led off to the left.

"Let's go, then," said Landry.


	36. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Landry, Miles, and Genevieve ran down the dark, slimy passageway, hoping with all their hearts that they would find their friends alive and well on the other end. Soon, the trio reached a fork in the pipe. "Which way should we go?" asked Genevieve.

Suddenly her question was answered when a voice called out from the passage to the right. "Genevieve? Is that you?" it asked in a trembling tone.

"It sounds like Scorpius!" Landry cried excitedly. "Let's go!"

The three teenagers ran down the pipe that skewed off to the right, and soon they found themselves in a large room. The sides were lined with huge snake statues, and at the front was an even larger snake skeleton. And there was something inside of it. "Scorpius!" Landry cried, running towards him.

A terrified looking Scorpius Malfoy had been trapped inside the ribcage of the basilisk skeleton that had been left behind after Harry Potter had defeated it during his second year at Hogwarts. "Are you okay?" Genevieve asked him.

"I'm fine. Where's Albus? I need to talk to him," Scorpius said.

"He's down here, too, along with both of your dads. They must've taken the other pipe. We've got to get you out of there so we can find them and get back to the battle," Landry said as she began to inspect the ribcage that Scorpius was trapped inside.

"A blasting charm should do the trick," Genevieve said, whipping out her wand. "Reducto!" she cried.

The bones shattered, leaving a hole plenty big enough for Scorpius to escape through. "Thanks," Scorpius said, jumping out of the skeleton and running to embrace Genevieve.

"Anytime. Now, let's go find the others and get the hell out of here," she said.

"Sounds good to me," replied Scorpius.

The four teenagers ran through the tunnels, searching for Albus, Draco, and Harry. They were having no luck, when suddenly Landry remembered something. "The stones! Let's call Albus!" she cried, pulling hers out of her pocket. She quickly tapped it four times with her wand and thought of Albus, hoping with all her might that he would pick up. To her relief, his face soon appeared in the stone.

"Landry! Where are you? Did you find Scorpius?" Albus asked worriedly.

"Yes! He's right here! Are you with your dad and Mr. Malfoy?" Landry questioned.

"Yes, I'm with both of them! Let's meet back at the entrance to the Chamber," said Albus excitedly, before hanging up the call.

"Come on!" Genevieve cried, starting off down the pipe, with Scorpius right behind her. Landry was about to follow when she noticed that her boyfriend had a very concerned look on his face.

"Miles? What's wrong?" Landry asked.

"I don't know…doesn't this all seem weirdly easy to you? We just walked right in and found Scorpius, freed him easily, and now we're about to escape with no difficulty? It just seems odd. If I were a powerful, dark wizard who wanted to keep someone trapped, I'd surely put up more defenses," Miles pointed out.

Landry's eyes grew wide. She and Miles both looked up at each other at the same time. "Unless Voldemort wanted us to find him. Come on, we have to warn the others!"

Miles and Landry dashed through the pipes as fast as they could, but it was too late. They came to a halt next to their friends, who were all frozen in fear, looking towards the pale figure with glowing, red eyes that stood before them. He was wearing the Resurrection Stone on a chain around his neck. "That was easier than I could've hoped," chuckled Voldemort wickedly. Then he turned to Harry. "Well, well, well, Harry Potter. You've gotten old."

"Man, how many times do I have to defeat you before you stay dead?" Harry said, with extreme irritation in his voice.

Voldemort sneered. "You're quite right, Harry. You are incompetent. I, however am not. I suppose this is goodbye, as you're all going to rot down here, and I am going to live forever."

With that, Voldemort stuck his wand straight up into the air and launched himself up into the pipe, exiting the Chamber. Before anyone could react, they heard the sink move back into place. "He trapped us. There's no way out," Draco said, throwing his arms up in anger.

"We'll find a way out, I know it!" said Landry, trying to comfort everyone, and herself. But all went quiet when they noticed Albus and Scorpius, staring at each other silently.

"Why don't we go look for another exit?" Harry said to Draco, jabbing his head towards the two boys.

"An excellent idea," Draco said, immediately understanding Harry's gesture.

The two adults left, leaving the teenagers alone. Landry, Miles, and Genevieve stepped away, trying very hard to pretend that they were not paying attention to Albus and Scorpius. They were.

"Hi," said Scorpius.

"Hey there," said Albus.

"I'm sorry," they said, at the same time.

"I should've been more patient and understanding. I know how hard it is to come out, especially to your parents. I shouldn't have gotten so mad. I'm so sorry," Albus said.

"I'm sorry, too," Scorpius said, smiling. "It was wrong of me to say all that stuff, even if it was out of fear to come out. I…I love you, Albus."

A shocked grin slowly spread across Albus's face. "Did you just say…"

"I love you, Albus. I'm completely in love with you," Scorpius said.

Albus ran up to him and engulfed him in some sort of mutant hug-kiss combo. "I love you too, you adorable idiot," he said.

A chorus of "Awwwww"s came from the opposite end of the room. Landry, Miles, and Genevieve had failed miserably in not paying attention to Scorpius and Albus, but neither boy minded in the slightest.

The happy moment was suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Harry and Draco, walking towards the teenagers with grim expressions on their faces. "Voldemort's sealed off all the pipes. There's no way out," Draco said.

"Wait, why haven't we tried apparating?" Scorpius suggested hopefully.

"We tried that. He's put an anti-apparation spell on the whole chamber," said Harry sadly.

"So that's it, then? We're all going to die down here?" Albus asked.

There was silence. Nobody wanted to answer his question, even though everyone knew the answer. Just as Landry was about to try and raise everyone's spirits with a half-hearted inspirational speech, a strange sound echoed out from above them. "Someone's opening the Chamber!" Miles cried excitedly. "We're saved!"

But as the blonde figure dropped down from the entrance pipe, all hearts sank.

"Found you," Grindelwald said, with a smirk.

"You! How did you open the Chamber?" cried Landry.

"Bribed the ghost," Grindelwald chuckled. "It seems she picked up a little parseltongue from spending her entire death hearing other people use it. Now, it's time I get down to business."

"Expelliarmus!" yelled Harry and Grindelwald simultaneously. Their spells met in the center of the room, two red jets of magic fighting each other. Sweat ran down both wizards' foreheads, until, slowly but surely, Harry's spell started creeping towards Grindelwald. As Grindelwald fell backwards, his wand, the Elder wand, flew towards Harry, who grabbed it triumphantly.

"No!" shrieked Grindelwald.

"It's over, Grindelwald," Genevieve said.

"Stupefy!" cried Harry, pointing the Elder wand towards Grindelwald. Grindelwald closed his eyes and braced himself for the stunning spell. But it never came. The spell only made it halfway across the room before fizzling out. Before Grindelwald could react, Draco quickly took out his wand and performed the spell that the Elder wand had failed to complete. Grindelwald crumpled to the ground, stunned. Harry stared down at the Elder wand in shock.

"I don't understand," Draco said, his voice trembling. "That wand should answer to you. You disarmed me at Malfoy Manor when we were 17. It's been yours since then."

"Unless someone else disarmed you," Landry pointed out.

Albus and Scorpius looked at each other, their eyes wide in realization. "Delphini Riddle disarmed you in Godric's Hollow, back in fourth year," Albus said.

"Merlin's beard," Harry said.


	37. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

After Miles's clever use of a sticking spell on the sides of the pipe they had slid down, the teenagers, Draco, and Harry were able to climb up and out of the Chamber. After a heated argument over whether or not to leave the unconscious Grindelwald down in the Chamber (Draco had quite liked the idea of leaving him down there to rot), a rather reluctant agreement was reached to carry him out with them. Meanwhile, Landry was trying to figure out what to do. She kept repeating the prophecy over and over in her head.

_"The daughter of Death will come into the light. The symbol of her linage will shine brighter than the stars, and she will be faced with a deathly challenge. She will find the stone her ancestor made, and the balance of life and death will be tampered with. Only she has the ability to realign the realms and disassemble the tools that are said to be her master. Only she can right the wrong the imbalances caused."_

The first part of the prophecy had already come to pass, of course. Landry had 'come into the light,' and she had discovered that she was the descendant of Death because of her Patronus, a 'symbol of her lineage' that definitely shone 'brighter than the stars.' She found the resurrection stone, which was made by Death, and she had accidentally caused 'the balance of life and death' to be 'tampered with,' though she had received some help in doing that from Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Yes, the first part of the prophecy seemed completely clear to Landry. The second part was not as easily deciphered. The first sentence of the second half seemed straightforward enough. Only Landry could send all of the resurrected people back to their rightful realm, and then destroy the Hallows. But she had no idea what the last part meant. How was Landry going to 'right the wrong the imbalances caused' if she couldn't figure out what that meant. Landry sighed worriedly.

"What's wrong, Babe?" asked Miles, walking over to her. "Besides the war, I mean," he added.

"This prophecy. I can't figure out the last part," Landry said, laying her head on her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Tell me what it is, I can help you," Miles said hopefully.

"Only she has the ability to realign the realms and disassemble the tools that are said to be her master," Landry recited. "I know what that means. I'm supposed to send all of the resurrected people back to where they belong, then destroy the Hallows."

"Right, what's next?" Miles questioned.

"Only she can right the wrong the imbalances caused," Landry finished. "I have no clue about that one."

Miles furrowed his brow in thought. "Well, I think the 'imbalances' are the people who were resurrected," he stated.

"That's what I was thinking, too," Landry agreed. "But there are tons of people who were resurrected. They've probably all done things that could be considered wrong."

"Well, this prophecy is kind of only about you, right?" Miles asked.

"I guess so," Landry replied.

"So the only people that you resurrected were Dumbledore and Grindelwald," Miles pointed out.

Landry looked at him in amazement. "You're right! That would make sense, too, because they spent so much time together as teenagers, they've probably made some joint mistakes!"

"Yes!" Miles cried excitedly.

Landry threw her arms around Miles. "Thank you," she said.

"Of course," Miles replied.

"I still don't know exactly what it means, though," Landry realized, her spirits falling.

"But you're a lot closer now! I know you can figure it out, Love," Miles comforted.

"Well, at least we know one thing. We have to get the Hallows so I can 'disassemble' them," Landry said, with a sudden surge of determination coursing through her.

"We've got the wand now! And we know exactly where the cloak is," said Miles.

"Technically Delphi has the wand, though we have it physically. And although we know where the cloak is, it won't be easy to get to it. Plus we still need the stone," Landry pointed out.

"The stone that Voldemort has," Miles stated nervously.

"Right," Landry replied.

"What are we waiting for, then? Let's go hunt us some Voldy!" exclaimed Genevieve. Landry turned to her friend in surprise. She hadn't realized that Genevieve had been listening to her conversation with Miles. Upon turning to face the rest of the room, Landry discovered that Genevieve had not been the only eavesdropper. All eyes were Landry.

"Alright, let's…'hunt some Voldy,'" laughed Landry.

"What should we do with Grindeldork?" Scorpius asked, gesturing towards the still unconscious blonde who was laying haphazardly on the floor.

"We'll put him in these," Harry said, pulling out a pair of magic-blocking handcuffs.

"Woah! Where did you get those, Dad?" Albus asked in awe.

"I'm an Auror," Harry said.

"Oh. Right," replied Albus sheepishly.

"Where are we gonna put him?" Genevieve wondered.

"In a broom closet. Hanging by his feet. Because that way, even if he does escape, all of the blood will have rushed to his head and he won't be able to walk anyways," Miles suggested.

Landry stared at her boyfriend with an expression that was half impressed and half terrified. "Are you quite sure that you're not going to turn evil on me?" she asked.

"I'm just saying, it's the smartest place to put him!"

While Draco and Harry went off, with Grindelwald in tow, to find the nearest broom closet, Landry was still trying to figure out how she could obtain all of the Hallows, and how she was going to destroy them. Could the Elder Wand just be snapped in half like a normal wand? Landry did not think so, because if that were the case, surely someone else would've done it by now. She tried to remember the story of The Three Brothers that she had read back in third year for a class assignment. It had been one of many stories in 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' and she hadn't thought much of it at the time. There was no way Landry could've know its significance. She tried to remember how Death had made the Hallows. They were all part of a trick, she recalled. The Peverell brothers had been wizards, and they had conjured up a bridge so they could safely cross a dangerous river. Death had felt cheated, because travelers usually drowned in the river and became his. But instead of scaring the brothers, Death had pretended to congratulate them, and offered them any gift they wanted. He knew that humans were selfish and greedy, and assumed that any gift they would select would lead to their demise. For the eldest two brothers, he was right. The first brother wished for the most powerful wand in the world. Death had taken a branch from a nearby elder tree and, by adding a thestral tail hair and some of his own magic, made it into the Elder Wand. Landry wondered if she could somehow extract the magic of her ancestor out of the wand, and whether or not she would have to win it from Delphi in order to do this. She was, after all, meant to 'disassemble' the Hallows. Next, Landry thought of the second brother and his wish. He had wished for a stone that could bring people back from the dead, so that he could be reunited with the love of his life, who had died tragically young. Death had taken an ordinary pebble from the river and had, once again, put some of his own magic into it to make it extraordinary. This seemed similar to the wand in how it could potentially be unmade. These two brothers had both died because of their Hallows. The third brother, however, had been very clever, and wished for a gift that would protect him from Death. Death had, reluctantly, given him a piece of his own invisibility cloak. Landry was not sure how she would go about destroying the cloak, though it was somewhat unclear to her whether she would have to, as the cloak had never caused any harm. But before she could even think about doing this, she had to get the Hallows.

Landry's train of thought was interrupted when she found herself knocked off her feet. The castle had lurched, worse than it had in the battle up to this point. Echoes of screams could be heard from all throughout Hogwarts. Through her disorientation, Landry rose to her feet, brushed the fallen crumbs of stone off of her clothes, and looked around to assess the damage. Her friends were collapsed around her, each of them beginning to recompose themselves. "Is everyone okay?" she asked nervously.

"I think so," said Miles, as he plucked a chunk of castle out of his hair.

"We're good," said Genevieve, who was helping Albus and Scorpius up from the ground.

"We'd better go see what happened," Landry said.

"Yeah, we need to find my dad as well, and Scorp's dad," Albus pointed out.

The teenagers filed cautiously out of the bathroom that housed the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. With their wands up, they started down the corridor. Almost immediately, they ran into Draco and Harry.

"Oh thank goodness!" Draco cried, embracing his son.

"Are you all okay? Is anyone hurt?" Harry asked.

"We're fine," Genevieve assured him.

"Do either of you know what happened?" questioned Albus.

"I do," said Pippa, who suddenly appeared in a spot that had been empty just moments ago. She dashed down the hallway with the invisibility cloak trailing behind her.

"Pippa?" gasped Landry. "How…why…the cloak!" she sputtered.

"The Death Eaters were blasting through everyone's traps way too easily, especially after they figured out our decoy cloak plan" Pippa defended. "I had to make sure they didn't find the real cloak."

"Okay, fine, but how did you get through our trap?" Landry asked, flabbergasted.

Pippa gave Landry a confused look. "You guys gave me the countercurses, silly!"

Landry ignored her embarrassment. "Whatever. Tell us what happened when the castle shook a few minutes ago!"

Pippa's face suddenly fell. "The Death Eaters knocked down Gryffindor tower. They ran away after it happened, Voldemort must've called them back to him. But the tower is completely destroyed. A lot of people were fighting up there…including…" she trailed off, clearly not wanting to say what she had to say, but words weren't needed. Landry could tell what had happened from her sister's expression.

"Who?" asked Landry, softly.

"McGonagall," Pippa replied, a single tear rolling down her cheek.


	38. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Landry and her friends were running through the castle as fast as they possibly could. None of them wanted to believe what they knew they were about to see. As they got closer to the Hogwarts courtyard, they were joined by more and more students and staff who were in the same situation as they were. Landry came to a sudden halt as she ran out into the courtyard. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. There was no possible way that what she saw in front of her could really be happening. But it was. There was a dark mark, the symbol of Voldemort, displayed in the sky, and Minerva McGonagall, the strongest woman anyone at Hogwarts had ever met, now lay, motionless, in the center of the courtyard. "NO!" shrieked Harry, running towards her. He threw himself onto the ground and began casting every spell he knew on her, but it was to no avail. The unbreakable woman had fallen. Hermione and Ron came up behind Harry, both of them crying. "Hermione, please, there must be a potion, a spell, some sort of muggle trick, anything!" Harry stumbled desperately.

"She's gone, Harry," said Hermione, through sobs.

It was Luna Lovegood who raised her wand first. One tiny light, one "lumos," from the tip of her wand, glowing up into the dreary sky.

Landry immediately did the same, followed by Scorpius, then Miles, then Albus and Genevieve. Soon, the entire courtyard was glowing, every single wand alight. Harry was the last to raise his wand, as he brokenly accepted defeat. After several minutes of silent mourning, a sense of restlessness began to spread. McGonagall was dead, and even the students to whom she had given detention a hundred times were utterly furious. Voldemort was responsible for this, and he was going to pay. Landry figured that if his being a mass murderer wasn't enough to hate him for, this was. It was then that an idea suddenly came to her. It was something Dumbledore had said in Godric's Hollow.

"A Patronus is the embodiment of the light that is inside every one of you," he had said. "This light can, if you believe hard enough, be strong enough to drown out even the darkest of things."

This idea would definitely be a long shot, but for some reason, Landry had and odd feeling that it just might work. Voldemort and his army was certainly the darkest thing Landry had ever encountered, and she did not recall ever having been told that the Patronus charm only worked on dementors. Quickly, Landry whipped out her wand and held it to her throat. "Sonorus," she uttered, so as to make sure she would be heard.

"Hey, everyone! I have an idea!" she called out, her voice now amplified. All eyes turned towards her. Landry gulped. It was then that she realized that she was about to propose a plan to almost all of the students in her year.

"What if we all went to face Voldemort and his army, and we confronted him by all casting a patronus, all at once?" Landry suggested nervously.

There was a chorus of confused muttering from all around the courtyard. "How will that do anything?" called out a troubled Hufflepuff. "Last time I checked, Death Eaters aren't dementors."

Sounds of agreement echoed out all around Landry, as her face fell. But then, Dumbledore came up beside her. "May I?" he asked her. Landry nodded gratefully.

"I believe that Landry's plan may work," Dumbledore announced.

The response to this was mostly a confused one. Nobody quite understood how it would be possible for patronuses to stop wizards, but if Dumbledore believed it, then maybe it was.

"How, Sir?" asked a confused Slytherin.

"As I have told Miss Beckett before, a Patronus is the embodiment of the light that is inside every single one of you. This light can, if you believe hard enough, be strong enough to drown out even the darkest of things," Dumbledore explained, quoting himself almost exactly.

"And Voldemort is pretty much the darkest thing there is," Landry added on.

Everyone in the courtyard agreed with that statement. Eventually, a Ravenclaw spoke up, with hope in their voice. "It's worth a try," they said. And everyone agreed.

So it was decided that Landry would lead the march on Voldemort and his army, who had taken up camp on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. "After all," Draco had pointed out, "Voldemort went to all the trouble of kidnapping Scorpius just to attempt to trap you. That means he sees you as a threat."

Landry hadn't thought of that, but she realized there was some logic to the concept. Why would Voldemort have gone to all the trouble of setting up the Chamber of Secrets trap if he wasn't even slightly worried that Landry and her friends could defeat him?

If all went well, then the patronuses would somehow disorient Voldemort and the Death Eaters for long enough that the Resurrection Stone could be reclaimed. Landry hoped with all her might that they could pull this off. It was certainly a long shot, but it was all she had.

"Are you ready, Love?" Miles asked Landry.

"I hope so," Landry replied.

The cold November wind blew Landry's hair back as she and the Hogwarts army trudged towards the Forbidden Forest. There was an overwhelming feeling of fear in the heart of each one of them. Landry knew that this was it. Without McGonagall, and everyone else who had fallen along with Gryffindor tower, the Death Eaters outnumbered them three to one, and their power was very strong. This was their last chance to win. As she walked, Landry suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder. "Pip? What is it?" Landry asked her sister.

Pippa took a determined breath. "Landry, I think I should be the one to grab the stone from Voldemort. I'm small, quick, and I have the cloak. He'll never see me coming," she said.

"Okay," said Landry.

"Now, I know you're probably going to say no, but- wait, did you just say _okay?_" Pippa gasped in surprise.

"Yes," Landry replied. "Pippa, you've more than proven yourself. I know you can do it."

"I can!" agreed Pippa.

"Voldemort is wearing the stone as a necklace, so you'll have to get really close to him to grab it," Landry explained. "Be careful, okay?"

"I will," nodded the small Gryffindor.

As Pippa turned to go tell Dumbledore of her success, Landry called out to her. "Pip?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Pippa smiled. "Love you too, sis."

The Hogwarts army came to a halt as they arrived on the edge of the forest. It somehow looked darker than it ever had before. Landry turned to address the crowd of people behind her.

"Alright, you know what to do. In exactly ten seconds, we'll all cast our patronuses into the forest. With any luck, the Death Eaters and Voldemort will come flying at us. That's when we strike them down," Landry explained.

"_Ten, nine, eight,"_

Landry took a shaky breath in.

"_Seven, six, five, four,"_

This was it.

"_Three, two,"_

Everyone's wands were raised.

"_One."_

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Landry had never seen anything so bright in her entire life. It was lighter than white, it was blinding, pure, and beautiful. Hermione's otter was running alongside Lily Potter's doe, while Luna Lovegood's rabbit was hopping next to Pippa's occamy. James and Harry's stag patronuses charged majestically, and Miles's unicorn had its horn pointed straight forwards as it ran. Landry's own thestral patronus reared up on its hind legs, leading the pack of shimmering animals towards the Forbidden Forest. As the last of the creatures disappeared into the trees, the woods seemed to glow from the inside out. Suddenly, a collection of loud, panicked shrieks sounded from in the forest. Death Eaters started to appear, sprinting out of the woods as fast as they could. Sirius Black's dog patronus could be seen chasing Bellatrix Lestrange, who was frantically flailing as she ran from it. Landry looked to Pippa, who gave her a nod before throwing the invisibility cloak around herself and disappearing from sight. As Pippa ran off to get the stone, the Death Eaters began to regain their composure. Spells began flying all around. Landry found herself dueling two Death Eaters at once.

"Stupefy!" she cried. One of the Death Eaters fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Avada Kedavra!" shouted the other one. Landry just barely blocked the killing curse, before disarming and stunning her second opponent. It was when she disarmed the Death Eater that Landry remembered Delphi. To gain the allegiance of the Elder Wand, Landry would have to disarm her. Landry whirled all around, scanning the crowd for Harry, who still had the Elder Wand. She quickly spotted him, dueling a Death Eater not far away. She stunned the Death Eater from afar, and ran to him. "Mr. Potter, I need the Elder Wand, please! No time to explain," she cried. Harry considered for a split second before he nodded, holding the wand out towards her. But suddenly, just as Landry was about the grab the wand from him, a bony, white hand snatched it first. All heads turned as a cold cackle sounded out. Voldemort held the Elder Wand out triumphantly into the sky.

"Finally," he said wickedly, pointing the wand at Harry. "Expelliarmus!" Voldemort cried. The spell hit Harry square on the chest, and his wand flew out of his hand.

"Now, at last, I am the master of the Elder Wand. That fool Grindelwald must have been weaker than I thought to lose this old stick to Harry Potter," Voldemort chuckled. He then turned back to Harry. "And now, Harry Potter, I shall finally kill you."

There were screams from the surrounding crowd, but the Death Eaters stopped anyone from interfering. Harry stood still, his face blank, as Voldemort drew his wand arm back dramatically. "AVADA KEDAVRA," he shrieked. But nothing happened. The wand sputtered, producing no more but a few lone sparks. Voldemort looked down at it in shock. "I….I don't understand!" he cried angrily. "I disarmed him! The wand should be mine!"

"Unless it wasn't mine anymore," Harry said slyly.

Voldemort's eyes narrowed. Even Harry did not think he had ever seen Voldemort looking this angry. "Who?" he asked, through gritted teeth.

"In her attempt to bring you back to life several years ago, Delphini Riddle disarmed me," Harry stated simply.

Voldemort was livid. "DELPHI!" he screeched. The terrified girl came racing towards her father.

"I was trying to bring you back, Father!" she cried, in desperation.

"Father? I am your _Lord!_" he cried. "You are my _servant, _no matter that you share my blood. You are here to _serve_ me!"

Delphi was crying. Voldemort pointed his wand at her. "You will pay for this mistake, you wretched girl!" he sneered.

But as Voldemort began to say "Crucio," he realized that he was no longer holding the Elder Wand. A few feet away, a small girl appeared out of thin air. Pippa Beckett stood, with a triumphant grin on her face, holding all three of the Deathly Hallows.


	39. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Voldemort was utterly flabbergasted. Pippa could not help but laugh at this sight. "Why are you so surprised? It's not like this is the first time you've been bested by a little kid," she said. Voldemort furiously turned away from Delphi to face the girl.

"How _dare_ you!" he shrieked. He pulled his own wand from his robes and lifted it into the air. But, before he could cast a spell, he found his hand empty once again. Delphi had grabbed it from him, and was now staring at the wand in her hand, shocked at what she had just done. Voldemort was disarmed.

Landry ran to her sister, who quickly handed the three Hallows over to her. She put the Elder wand in between her teeth and slung the cloak over her arm so she could hold the stone with both hands. Landry turned the stone over three times, and looked up to Voldemort. "Go back to where you belong," she said, shakily. The stone began to glow, as did Voldemort, along with all of the Death Eaters he had resurrected. Many of them tried to shriek, but all of them found they could no longer make any sound. And then they were gone. There was silence from the crowd around Landry as she looked up at them. They all appeared equally shocked as how she felt. Then, all of a sudden, all three of the Deathly Hallows began to glow. Landry's eyes widened as the wand, cloak, and stone all began to levitate. The three objects stopped right above her head, with the stone in the center of the wand, and the cloak folded into a triangle behind them.

"What in the name of Merlin is going on?" asked Harry.

"The Hallows are being unmade," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling.

The resurrection stone began to tremble. Landry looked up at it just in time to see it burst apart. A golden dust fell from where the stone had once been, and as it rained down on her, Landry felt an odd surge of magic throughout her entire body. It felt as though a piece of herself that she had never known was missing was now back in its place. Next, the Elder Wand floated down and placed itself in Landry's palm. Glittering vines began to snake down from the tip of the wand, lacing the wand to Landry's hand. As the vines slowly faded into Landry's skin, the Invisibility cloak came down onto her, draping itself around her shoulders. Instead of turning Landry invisible, the cloak turned golden, and fastened itself around her like a cape. The two remaining objects stayed like this for a few moments, then, as suddenly as they had started glowing, they stopped. Landry looked up at the crowd around her, all of whom were standing, watching, silently.

"What the hell are you?" asked a Slytherin, breaking the silence.

"I'm Landry," said Landry, with a small smile. "I'm kinda the descendant of Death."

Miles let out a cheer. "My girlfriend is the descendant of Death!" he cried excitedly. "How cool is that?"

Landry giggled as Albus, Scorpius, and Genevieve began to cheer along with Miles. Dumbledore and Pippa joined in, followed by Harry and Draco. Soon enough, the entire crowd was clapping and cheering for Landry. It was incredibly overwhelming for her, as she had always been one to keep a low profile. She was not at all used to being the center of attention, nor was she at all sure that she enjoyed it. Still, Landry smiled as she looked around at all of her friends, cheering her on. Their faces were tired, and their clothes were covered in rubble and dirt. They had done just as much to fight this battle as Landry had, and she was going to make sure to tell them this a thousand times over.

The remaining Death Eaters, including Delphi, were immediately captured by the Aurors, and were sent off, along with copious amounts of guards, on the first train out of Hogsmeade. Soon, everyone else began slowly making their way back to the castle. Though there was a buzz of celebration amongst them, there was also an overlay of sadness lurking like a blanket over each student, teacher, and Auror. There had been many casualties, and the castle was in the worst state it had ever been in. It was going to be an incredibly difficult rebuilding process, one which not even Pippa had a shortcut for. Landry found herself straying away from the rest of the crowd, a million thoughts running through her head. She was still felling extremely confused about what had just happened. The Invisibility cloak was still wrapped around her, but it was not turning her invisible. Landry sighed to herself as she noticed that the people she was walking past seemed to be staring at her, whispering things to each other under their breath. She wished she would turn invisible. And then, all of a sudden, she did. Miles, who was walking behind her, shrieked. Landry whirled around, wishing herself to be visible again. With that, she was.

"What in Merlin's name?" Miles gasped.

"I…I have no idea how I did that," Landry said, feeling just as shocked as her boyfriend.

"We should go find Dumbledore," said Miles, taking his glass stone out of his pocket. He tapped it four times, and, to his relief, Dumbledore's face immediately appeared in it.

"Mr. Dumbledore, where are you? Landry really needs your help," Miles explained.

"I'm in the courtyard," replied Dumbledore.

"Okay, we'll be there soon," Miles said, before hanging up his stone. "Let's go," he said, turning to Landry as he offered his hand out to her. She gladly took it, and the couple walked quickly across the grounds to where the courtyard was.

When they arrived, they saw Dumbledore, standing off to the side. But as Landry grew closer, she could see that he wasn't alone. Harry Potter was there too, standing in the center of the courtyard, kneeling over the still body of Professor McGonagall. Miles and Landry quietly walked up to Dumbledore, not wanting to disturb Harry's mourning.

"Landry, good," Dumbledore greeted. "What is ailing you?"

"I…well…I don't really know how to say this," Landry said.

"Do you think you could show him?" suggested Miles.

"I suppose I could try," Landry agreed with a nod. She closed her eyes, and wished as hard as she could to become invisible. She could tell from the shocked gasps of Miles and Dumbledore that it had worked. Landry then did the same as she had before, wishing to become visible again. And sure enough, she did.

"This is most peculiar," Dumbledore said, stroking his chin as though it was the beard that his older self had sported. "But it does make sense. When Landry unmade the Hallows, she absorbed the power that Death put into them."

"So…you're saying that I can now do anything that the Hallows could?" Landry asked.

"Indeed," Dumbledore confirmed.

It was as if a lightbulb turned on in Landry's head. She suddenly dashed over to McGonagall's body, throwing herself down next to where Harry was kneeling.

"Landry? What?" Harry questioned, wiping tears from his cheeks.

Landry did not reply, but instead stuck the Elder Wand, which she had still be holding, into Hermione's bag. She then rolled up her sleeves, before placing both hands gingerly above McGonagall's chest. Closing her eyes, Landry wished harder than she ever had before. She wished for McGonagall to be alive, breathing again, heart beating once more. Then she waited. And waited. And waited. And then, in the very moment she was beginning to lose hope, Landry felt it. She opened her eyes just in time to see her own hands begin to glow, just as the Resurrection stone had. The light started to spiral out from her fingers in long vines, which wrapped themselves around McGonagall.

Her eyes shot open. Air filled Minerva McGonagall's lungs once more. Harry screamed, before throwing his arms around her. She coughed, but smiled weakly up at him.

"What happened?" she asked softly.

"You…you died," Harry said, looking at Landry as he suddenly realized what she had just done.

McGonagall chuckled. "It isn't the first time that I've nearly died," she said.

"No, I mean…you were actually, really dead. For an hour or more!" Harry explained.

"How is that possible?" McGonagall questioned, shocked.

"She…Landry…" Harry trailed off.

All eyes were on Landry once more, but luckily, Dumbledore quickly intervened.

"I believe I can explain," he said, stepping forwards.

Dumbledore explained the prophecy to McGonagall and Harry, who both listened intendedly, their jaws dropping as he revealed Landry's lineage.

"So you mean to tell me," McGonagall began, "That Landry Beckett is, essentially…._Death _herself?"

"That is correct," confirmed Dumbledore.

McGonagall was silent for a moment, and Landry was scared that she was going to scold her. But instead, a smirk spread across the old woman's face. "Looks like you've got some 'Chosen One' competition, Harry," she said, turning to Harry.

Harry chuckled. "I suppose I do," he agreed. "Welcome to the club, Landry."

"It's an honor, Sir," Landry said.

"Oh, there's no need to call me Sir, Landry," Harry replied. "Call me Harry."

"This is so great," Miles said with a grin. "Now we can go tell everyone you're alive, Professor! They'll all be so happy!"

McGonagall's face fell, and she looked up with a sigh. "Actually, I'm not so sure that's such a good idea," she said slowly.

"What are you talking about?" Landry asked.

"I'm old," said McGonagall. "Though I may never have acted like it, I was beginning to feel it. I've been teaching for 67 years, and to be entirely honest, I'm rather tired."

"So what are you saying?" Harry asked, worriedly.

"If you're going to ask me to make you dead again, the answer is no," said Landry firmly.

"Goodness, no!" McGonagall said. "But it may not be such a bad idea to let everyone else continue to think it. Of course, you can tell Hermione and Ron, Harry. And Landry, you can tell your friends as well."

"What will you do?" Miles asked, with a small sniffle. He was not the only one who was beginning to tear up.

"As you know, I am an Animagus. I think it sounds like a rather lovely idea to live as a cat for a while," McGonagall explained.

"Who's going to be our Head of Hogwarts?" questioned Landry.

"I do believe that Professor Longbottom is the perfect man for the job," said McGonagall.

"So, this is it, then?" Harry asked, tears beginning to fall freely down his cheeks once more.

"I'm sure we'll meet again, Harry," McGonagall said comfortingly. She reached out to pat him on the shoulder, but instead, Harry wrapped his old teacher into a fierce hug.

"Thank you for everything, Professor," Harry said through his tears.

"Call me Minerva," she replied.

A few minutes later, Landry, Miles, Harry, and Dumbledore stood together, watching as the tabby cat with spectacle shaped markings around its eyes disappeared from their sight. There was a calm silence. Landry took a deep breath in, and then let it out. She finally felt like maybe the worst was behind her.

Then, suddenly, Harry gasped.

"What is it?" Miles questioned, seeing Harry's horrified expression.

"We left Grindelwald in the broom closet," Harry said.


	40. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

"_You left Grindelwald in the broom closet?" _Dumbledore gasped, his eyes growing wide.

"It just slipped my mind," Harry said, as he began to pace.

"Well, we have to go get him, then!" said Landry.

"Right! Yes!" Harry nodded, as he began to walk very quickly across the courtyard.

Landry, Miles, and Dumbledore chased Harry through what was left of the castle, but when they arrived at the broom closet where Grindelwald had been trapped, they found it was too late. The door was laying, unhinged, on the floor. It had been kicked down from the inside. Draco was standing there, staring at the place where the door to the closet had once been, along with Albus, Scorpius, and Genevieve. Landry figured they must've had the same realization that Harry had.

"This is not good," Albus said.

"You think, Sherlock?" Genevieve said sarcastically.

"Who's Sherlock?" Scorpius asked.

"I'll explain it to you later," replied Genevieve, with an eye roll.

"This is why I told you to hang him upside down!" Miles exclaimed.

"Okay, now, let's think," Landry began. "Where would a resurrected mass murderer, who has some kind of thing for Dumbledore, go if he had just kicked down a door while wearing magic blocking handcuffs?"

"My best prediction would be that he is trying to locate me," Dumbledore suggested.

"Okay, so where would he go if he was looking for you?" asked Albus.

"I'm not sure," Dumbledore confessed. "Grindelwald attended Durmstrang Academy, not Hogwarts. So it is highly improbable that he would have a specific location in mind at all."

Draco groaned. "What do you suggest we do, then?"

As the group stood together, thinking, a solution came to them. Literally.

An extremely angry Grindelwald was hurdling down the hall, with his hands cuffed behind his back.

"Hello, Gellert," Dumbledore said calmly.

It was as though steam was coming out of Grindelwald's ears. "You know what I am capable of, Albus," he said, through gritted teeth.

"I do," Dumbledore agreed. "However, I'm not too concerned about your magical capabilities at the moment, considering that you are currently locked tightly into those magic-blocking handcuffs."

"Oh, I wasn't talking about my magic, Albus," Grindelwald said, a smirk spreading across his face. "Or don't you recall? I seem to remember that it would not have required my magic at all to kill your sister."

Dumbledore was silent. Grindelwald had hit a nerve. "I suppose we won't ever know which one of us cast that curse that pushed the poor, young girl over the edge. It could have been me, yes. It also could have been Aberforth. But, it is equally likely that it was your spell that killed Ariana," Grindelwald said, in a sickening tone.

"I…" Dumbledore could not craft a response.

Grindelwald grinned wickedly. "It is too bad that we had to have that fight, is it not? If we hadn't, well, maybe Ariana would've had the life she deserved."

It was in that moment that everything suddenly made sense to Landry. "I- I know what to do," she said.

"What?" asked Miles, unsure of whether he had heard her correctly.

"I know what to do! I figured out the prophecy!" Landry exclaimed.

_"The daughter of Death will come into the light,"_ Landry recited. "That's me. Here I am, in the light. Then the prophecy states that _'the symbol of her linage will shine brighter than the stars, and she will be faced with a deathly challenge.'_ The symbol of my lineage is my thestral Patronus, which is very shiny, if I do say so myself. My 'deathly challenge' was this whole battle, obviously," explained Landry.

"Right, that makes sense," Scorpius said. "Go on."

_"She will find the stone her ancestor made, and the balance of life and death will be tampered with,"_ Landry continued to recite. "That all happened. Then it says that _'only she has the ability to realign the realms and disassemble the tools that are said to be her master,'_ which I did!"

"Okay, great, I'm glad you figured it out, but now may not have been the best time to go over it, Landry," Albus said.

"No, wait, there's one more line," said Landry _"Only she can right the wrong the imbalances caused."_

It dawned on everyone in the group at the same moment.

"Ariana," said Dumbledore.

"No!" cried Grindelwald, but before he could protest further, Landry suddenly reached her hands out towards him.

Landry's palms began to glow, as did Grindelwald himself.

"What's happening? gasped Grindelwald, in a panic.

"You're going back to where you belong," Landry said with determination.

And, just like that, Grindelwald was gone.

"What in the name of Merlin?" Genevieve gasped.

"I'll fill you in later, Gen," Landry promised.

"Do you really think you can bring her back?" Dumbledore asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I do," answered Landry. "Remember, it's like you said. I don't have to worry about whether or not I think I can do it, because I already know. It's been prophecised. It's written in the stars."

Landry closed her eyes and reached out her arms, picturing the portrait she remembered seeing of Ariana Dumbledore in her 'Advanced History of Magic' book. She pictured the small girl, with strawberry blonde hair and bright, blue eyes. With all she had in her, Landry willed the girl to be there in front of her.

A girl-shaped space in the middle of the corridor began to glow. Light radiated from it, and from Landry herself, until the whole hallway was bright as starlight. When the light began to fade, there was something in its place. Or rather, someone.

"Albus?" questioned Ariana. She looked around, blinking, clearly disoriented by her new surroundings.

"Ana," Dumbledore gasped.

"Where are we? Where have you been? Who are these people?" Ariana asked.

"You're at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Harry offered.

"What? But…that means…" Ariana trailed off, not daring to believe what she had just realized to be true.

"You're alive, Ana," Dumbledore said, engulfing his little sister in a hug.

"But how?" Ariana wondered. "Is this where you've been for the past few days?"

Dumbledore, Landry, and the rest of the group found themselves recapping the entire happenings of their adventure to Ariana, who listened with fascination the entire time.

"So, if I'm understanding this correctly," Ariana began, feeling very unsure of whether or not she was understanding, "This brunette girl accidentally brought Albus and Gellert back to life using a stone that was created by Death himself?"

"That is correct," Dumbledore said with a nod.

"And then, after that, the wicked followers of the dark wizard Voldemort used the stone to bring him back as well?" Ariana questioned.

"Yup," Scorpius confirmed.

Ariana nodded. "After that, you all embarked on a quest to defeat both Voldemort and Gellert, and found that a lot of other people had also been resurrected. You freed them, with the help of Gellert, who tricked you into thinking he was no longer evil, and then came back to Hogwarts after Voldemort and his followers attacked your campsite. Gellert then used Albus to get the Elder Wand, fleeing after he did so."

"That was when the battle started," Genevieve pointed out.

"Right," said Ariana. "You ultimately won the battle, defeating both Gellert and Voldemort, as well as all of Voldemort's followers."

"Don't forget about how Landry destroyed the Hallows and fulfilled the prophecy," said Miles, proudly grinning at his girlfriend.

"Yes, of course," Ariana agreed. "And now I'm alive again!"

"You can come to Hogwarts with us!" Landry realized.

Ariana's face suddenly fell. "No, I can't" she said, turning away sadly.

"Why not? What's wrong, Ariana?" Albus asked.

"I'm…well, I'm not a squib. I have magic, It's just…" she trailed off.

"Ariana is an Obscurus," Dumbledore stated bluntly.

Landry's eyes widened.

"What's an Obscurus?" Albus asked, curiously.

"They were very common in America during the Witch Trials, when young witches and wizards would try to internalize their magic so as to avoid being prosecuted," Landry explained. "It's a sort of magical parasite, when a person's powers turn against them. It is usually deadly to its host, and can be extremely dangerous to those around them."

Landry realized a little too late that that may not have been the best way to describe an Obscurus, for Ariana looked more upset now then before.

"You know what?" Miles said, a determined look coming across his face. "Who cares if she's an Obscurus? We'll find a way to make it work. This school has survived multiple wars, a giant snake, Dementors, many Tri-Wizard championships, Tom Riddle, Harry Potter, and the descendant of Death. I think it can withstand a 14-year-old girl."

"Yeah, Miles is right!" Genevieve agreed.

"We'll talk to Professor Longbottom right away," Landry said firmly. "Nobody should be denied the chance to come to Hogwarts. Besides, your Obscurial was created because you were trying to conceal your magic. If you learn to control your power, I don't see why it isn't possible that you could defeat the Obscurial."

Ariana looked up hopefully at her brother. "Albus? Do you think it could be possible?"

Dumbledore took a deep breath. "It has never been done before, but I think after what we have been through, we can all agree that nothing is impossible."

Ariana grinned.

"Then it's settled! Ariana, you're going to Hogwarts! You can start next semester after the winter Holiday!" Miles exclaimed.

"This is the best day ever! I get to go to Hogwarts with my brother!" Ariana squealed.

"I'm afraid you don't" Dumbledore said, sadly.

"What? But they just said that-"

Dumbledore cut Ariana off. "No, I don't mean about going to school. I mean about going with me."


	41. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

The room fell silent.

"I've lived my life, Ariana. I've served my purpose in this world. You did not get the chance to do that, but now you have that chance. However, I am not meant to be here for any longer, I'm afraid," Dumbledore said.

"So you're…you're going to die again?" Ariana whimpered, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'm going to go back to where I belong," Dumbledore answered. "Besides, we can't just leave Aberforth alone, can we?"

Ariana giggled through her tears. "I'm going to miss you, Al," she said, wrapping her arms around him.

"I shall miss you too, Ana," Dumbledore said, hugging her back.

I'll miss you too, Sir," Albus piped up.

"And I you, Albus. This is been quite the adventure," Dumbledore said with a chuckle.

"The adventure of _two_ lifetimes!" Genevieve exclaimed.

"Indeed," replied Dumbledore.

"Thank you for everything, Sir," Harry said, wiping away his own tears.

"You should not be thanking me, Harry," Dumbledore said, turning to the man with the faded lightning scar. "I was never honest with you. There was so much I wish I had done differently. So much…"

Landry shook her head. "But don't you see, Mr. Dumbledore? You did! You helped and encouraged me in ways that nobody else could. When I wanted to give up, you always gave me a new way to look at things. I couldn't have done this without you."

A tear rolled down Dumbledore's cheek. "Thank you, Landry. That does not excuse what I did to Harry, but I am truly happy that I was able to help you."

"Group hug!" Genevieve shouted suddenly. Soon, everyone in the room had wrapped Dumbledore in the warmest hug he had ever received. After a few minutes, the group pulled apart, and Dumbledore turned to Landry.

"Would you do the honors, Landry?" he asked her.

She nodded silently, tears freely falling from her eyes. Landry closed her eyes, and slowly extended her arm out towards Dumbledore. The surrounding group watched as Landry's hand began to glow, followed by Dumbledore himself. And then, in the blink of an eye, Albus Dumbledore was at rest once again.

After a moment of silence, Albus spoke. "So, what do we do now?"

"We should go find Professor Longbottom," Landry suggested. "We have a lot to talk to him about."

"And then Landry will have to send all the rest of the resurrected people back to where they belong," Scorpius pointed out.

"Right," Landry agreed.

"In that case," Harry said, "I do think I'll go say goodbye to everyone. I'm sure Neville is with his parents now, I'll tell him to meet you in the Headmaster's office in 15 minutes, so that he has the chance to say his farewells to them."

"I'll come with you," Albus said, walking over to join his father.

"If Albus is going, I am too," Scorpius added.

"I suppose I'll go too, then," Draco said with a shrug.

As Harry, Draco, and their sons turned to leave, Landry suddenly called out to Harry.

"Harry, wait!"

Harry turned back to face Landry. She quickly took the invisibility cloak, which had still been wrapped around her, off of herself, and held it out to him. "I believe this belongs to you," she said.

"Actually, I think it really belongs to you. Ignotus Peverell got the cloak from Death, after all. Besides, I'm fairly certain that your little sister loves that cloak more than myself or any of my children ever have," said Harry.

Landry smiled. "Thank you," she replied. "Pippa will be thrilled."

"Anything for another Chosen One," Harry said with a wink.

—

15 minutes later, Landry, Miles, Genevieve, and Ariana waited in the headmaster's office for Neville. Landry found herself noticing things about the room that she had never noticed before. It wasn't like she had spent much time in the office over her six and a half years at Hogwarts, but being in it now felt as though she was in a graveyard. A half-empty glass of firewhiskey sat on the desk. McGonagall must have been drinking it just before the battle began. On the wall, just above the desk, was a large portrait of Dumbledore. Except, to Landry, it did not look like Dumbledore. The man in the portrait was old and wise looking, with a long silver beard and a pointed purple hat. The Dumbledore that Landry knew was 17, with long auburn hair. Nothing about the Dumbledore in the painting looked anything like Dumbledore to Landry. Nothing, that is, except the eyes. They were clear, blue, and twinkling, just as Landry knew them to be. She smiled as the painting winked at her. Landry knew that McGonagall's portrait would soon join all of the other past Heads of Hogwarts on the wall of this room. Though McGonagall was not really dead, most everyone would need to think so if she was to live out her life as a cat like she wanted. So her portrait would go up on the wall, and that would be that.

Landry's train of thought was broken by the arrival of Neville Longbottom, who shut the door behind him as he entered the office. His cheeks were tear-stained. It was clear he had just finished saying goodbye to his parents for the last time.

"So," he said, looking at Ariana. "You're Ariana?"

"Yes, Sir," she confirmed. "Ariana Pricilla Winnifred Bertha Dumbledore. But just Ariana is fine. Or Ana, that's what my brothers called me."

"It's very nice to meet you, Ariana," Neville smiled. "Harry tells me you're going to be joining us here at Hogwarts next term."

Ariana nodded excitedly. "I would very much like to, yes, Sir. The only problem is that I'm, well, I have quite the magical parasite."

"Ariana's got herself an Obscurial," Landry explained.

"I see," Neville said, stroking his chin as he thought. "Well, I think that we can make it work. _Everyone_ is welcome at Hogwarts, no matter what."

Ariana grinned from ear to ear. "Thank you, Sir!" she cried, throwing her arms around Neville.

Neville chuckled as he hugged her back. "You're very welcome," he replied.

"Well, now that that's all settled, I should go," Landry said. "I have a lot of people to send back to the Afterlife."

"Very well," Neville agreed. "Ariana and I will stay here, we have a lot to discuss."

As Landry, Miles, and Genevieve turned to leave, suddenly a voice called out. "Wait!"

Everyone looked around the room, confused as to where the voice had come from. Soon, however, the source was spotted.

"I can't sort someone without an audience, and this girl is in dire need of being sorted," said the Sorting Hat.

"Certainly," Neville said. He walked over to the shelf where the Sorting Hat was sitting and brought it over to Ariana. She took a deep breath as the hat was placed on her head. Ariana had been longing for this moment for her whole life.

"What do we have here…a _Dumbledore!_ My, it's been quite a while since we've had a Dumbledore as a student here at Hogwarts!" the Sorting Hat exclaimed. "I know just where to put you. GRYFFINDOR!"

Ariana cheered as Neville removed the hat from her head. She was extremely excited to have been placed in the same house as her brothers.

"Now you're free to go," the hat said, as it was placed back on the shelf.

Landry nodded to the hat respectfully, and then she, Miles, and Genevieve left the office, so that Ariana and Neville could talk privately.

The three teenagers made their way to the Great Hall, where everyone was gathered. As they walked through the room, they passed by many crying Weasleys, Potters, and many more who were saying farewell to those they loved. Harry spotted Landry from across the room, and quickly pulled out his wand so he could amplify his voice to address the room.

"Alright, everyone should say their last goodbyes now. Landry is here, and she will be sending people back to the Afterlife starting now," Harry announced.

"Are you ready, Love?" Miles asked Landry.

"Yes," Landry replied. "Let's do this."


	42. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

A half an hour later, the job had been done. Landry had sent all of the people who had been resurrected back to their rightful realm. She took a deep breath as she looked over the now empty hall. Miles walked up next to her and laced his hand with hers. Landry smiled at him. She was very tired, but did not feel as though she could go to sleep. She scanned the room for her friends, and once spotting them, she walked over to them, still hand in hand with Miles.

Genevieve, Albus, and Scorpius were standing together, recounting things that had happened during the battle. They all fell silent as Landry approached.

"Hey," she said.

"What's up?" asked Scorpius.

"Not much," Landry said.

They all chuckled at the sarcasm Landry had just used.

"Do you want to go visit the thestrals?" Genevieve asked.

"That would be lovely," Landry replied.

"Wait, Gen, why do you want to go visit the thestrals? You can't see them," Albus pointed out.

"We just finished fighting a bloody war, Albus," Genevieve snorted. "I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be able to see them this time."

The group made their way down to the forest, the two couples hand in hand, with Genevieve in the middle, one arm around Landry and one around Albus. They soon reached the forest, which was littered with the footprints of the Death Eaters who had been in it just hours ago. It took a bit longer than usual to find the thestrals, as they had been scared deeper into the forest. Genevieve's eyes widened as the first thestral approached.

"It's beautiful," she said, reaching her hand out slowly, so the thestral could sniff her.

"As the proud owner of a thestral patronus, I thank you," Landry giggled.

The friends laughed and talked as they petted the thestrals. For a moment, it felt like nothing had changed, even though everything had.

"Hey, I just realized something," Scorpius said suddenly.

"What is it, Scorp?" Albus asked.

"Where was Severus Snape through all of this? He wasn't with the Death Eaters or with the Order of the Phoenix. Shouldn't he have been?" Scorpius asked.

"Honestly, I get why Voldemort didn't bring him back. Though he was part of both, he wasn't completely loyal to either," Landry pointed out.

"Yeah, plus he didn't deserve to be brought back. He was horrible to my dad and his friends when he was their teacher at school," Albus said. "Man, I'm so glad I was named after Dumbledore and not Snape."

"Wait, isn't your middle initial 'S'? I think I remember that from that stupid contract I made you sign. Wow, that seems like so long ago!" Landry recalled.

"What contract?" Miles asked.

"I'll explain later," Landry said with a giggle.

"My middle name is Scarfy," Albus said. "It's kind of weird, I know. But my dad said that I was named after someone who helped a lot of people. So I guess it's fine."

Suddenly, Genevieve gasped. "Look, it's snowing!" she cried.

Sure enough, white snowflakes had begun to fall from the sky, a thin layer of powder beginning to collect on the ground.

As Landry stood amongst her friends in the falling snow, she thought to herself how incredibly lucky she was to be here with them. And, despite being the Daughter of Death, Landry Beckett had never felt quite so alive.


End file.
